RE: Advertising, Then and Now

Better late than never, Tom! I visited the link you mentioned the other day and I noticed some striking similarities in the advertisements of yesteryear as well. You mentioned the “compelling images” that call consumers to take a second look at the ad. When I was scrolling through the vintage advertisements, I noticed that the images used haven’t changed all that much. Sure they are brighter, clearer and certainly more risque, but today’s consumers are evidently pulled to the same, or at least similar, images to consumers from the past. For example, I noticed that at least 12 of the 50 ads have beautiful women as the focus, whether targeting men or women.

Even though our ideas of beauty may constantly evolve, as evident by the modern make-up ad below, it seems attractive people, and women in particular, will always make for effective advertising.