60s ads were so Mysogynist, the advertising companies woudn’t survive Today…

Back in the 1960s, the world of adver­tis­ing looked very dif­fer­ent — and not in a good way. Print ads and TV spots often leaned on bla­tant misog­y­ny to sell every­thing from kitchen appli­ances to cars. Women were reduced to stereo­types, shown as house­wives des­per­ate to please their hus­bands, or por­trayed as objects to catch a man’s atten­tion.

It wasn’t sub­tle either. Head­lines open­ly mocked women’s intel­li­gence, and visu­als fre­quent­ly placed them in humil­i­at­ing posi­tions. At the time, these cam­paigns were seen as edgy or even humor­ous. Today? They’d be con­demned instant­ly — and no agency would sur­vive the back­lash.

These ads reveal just how much cul­tur­al norms have shift­ed. While they can be shock­ing to look back on now, they also serve as a reminder of how far soci­ety has come — and how mar­ket­ing both reflects and shapes the times.