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1930s Ad
This advertisement both objectifies women as being something "cute" to admire, as well as implying that women belong in the household and should be handling the bulk of housework. The women's rights movement was barely in it's early stages during this time, so it is understandable that this advertisement could be so confidently biased. -
Period: to
1930-Present
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1940s Ad
This advertisement is particularly demanding and assertive. It outright states that women "don't leave the kitchen", instead of the usual "women belong in the kitchen", which suggests the goal of this advertisement was rooted in anti-women's rights ideals. To further this assumption, the Seneca Fall's Women Convention, a turning point in the movement, took place around this time. -
1950s Ad
This advertisement is not subtle in the least- it completely expects of the wives reading it that they should be totally accustomed and relegated to the submissive housewife stereotype. Like the advertisement from the 1940s, this could be a response to growing support and realization for the women's rights movement- especially as the first National Women's Rights Convention took place in 1950. -
1960s Ad
This advertisement takes an abusive turn, likening a woman to the fur of a poached animal; a rug to be stepped on. The tagline "It's nice to have a girl around the house" asserts the dominant role of the man, able to do whatever he wants with a girl as he pleases. Many more women became conscious of the need for equal women's rights around the 1960s, leading to the formation of many new movement groups. Perhaps the aggressiveness in this advertisement was a response to this growing movement. -
1970s Ad
This advertisement reduces women to playthings that belong at a man's "feet." By referring to women as something to "keep", it strengthens the stereotype that a wife belongs to her husband, while also assuring that women enjoy it, by having her lying on the floor nude staring longingly at a man's shoe. This advertisement, compared to the last, is essentially dulled down in how abusive of a message it presents- suggesting that the "second-wave feminism peaking in the 1970s" had some effect. -
1980s Ad
This advertisement switches from treating women like household objects to objects of sexual desire. This is probably a response to how during the 1980s, many women were elected to political positions that they never had before. It's slightly more subtle than the ads of previous eras, with the caption "Every man should have an Imp he can call his own" referring to both the whiskey and women. Nonetheless, the glare of the girl in the picture and her sexualized outfit show a submissive role. -
1990s Ad
This advertisement represents the beginning of sexual innuendo as the dominant strategy for getting away with sexist advertisements. The double meaning behind the soda and "big one" is obvious to anyone with basic understanding of innuendos, which would not include children- as this is an advertisement for a soft drink, marketed for all age groups, the use of double meaning makes sense. Regardless, it does coincide with a growing nonacceptance for gender bias as a result of the women's movement. -
2000s Ad
This advertisement, compared to those beginning from the 1930s, is significantly more tame, light-hearted, and overall more respectful of women as individuals, but a bias remains. The caption "The Job That Really Matters" asserts that women belong in subservient, household positions. However, the woman is respectfully clothed and nothing in the advertisement directly ties her to men. -
2010 Ad
This advertisement is more sly than ones prior, making strong use of sexual innuendo to create a gender bias without a direct agenda. The bold caption "It'll Blow Your Mind Away" refers to both the woman and the sandwich. The phallic nature of the sandwich, and the doll-like appearance of the woman all contribute to objectifying women, but as it can be argued that the caption could be referring to either, despite the obvious innuendo, labeling it as an entirely sexist image is difficult. -
2010 Ad
This advertisement speaks for itself. There is no punchline, simply the image of a naked woman representing the Coke brand. It marks a shift in the purpose of sexist ads- while early ones created bias to lower public standards and views of women while promoting whatever goods were in the ad, this advertisement mainly does the latter. There is not as strong of an agenda against women present in this picture without a traditional sexist caption, but nonetheless it achieves appealing to men.
