Vintage Ads From 1972

Last week I had the opportunity to read a small stack of Family Circle magazines from 1972. This was great fun for me since I was born in 1972 and gave me a chance to see what was happening in the world from the female perspective… in some ways it wasn’t pretty.

Besides the rampant cigarette advertisements, there were a lot of advertisements about women not being fresh and hygienic… and I do mean a lot of advertisements! I won’t get into in this post, but it was disturbing and it seemed that a lot of women might get neurotic over it.

Instead of showing all the female related ads- I will post this one which shows a woman spraying down her bed with Lysol.

Why? Because apparently the bed is not fresh!

Am I missing something or do people really spray down their beds? Maybe just regular showering with soap and water would help these people instead of fumigating their bed with Lysol? How about changing the linens? Oh what do I know?

Moving along we have this fresh faced cutey from a 1972 Pampers Diapers advertisement… isn’t that cute she’s going to be President someday. Well we can dream can’t we?

Speaking of females in politics, wasn’t it Sarah Palin who was just bragging to the media that she and McCain were just a bunch of mavericks? I wasn’t really up to speed with the term “maverick” frankly, but apparently “The Mavericks Are Out To Change the World,” as this ad for Jeanie Sportswear by Maverick shows.

Better luck in 2012 Mrs. Maverick Sarah Palin don’t forget your polyester sportswear, it’s what all the mavericks are wearing.

Moving along- remember the ads on the back of comic books that claimed if you sent in a nominal amount of money they would send you a life changing guide? Generally it was something like “are you a 98 pound weakling, we can help.” In the back of the 1972 Family Circle magazine I have found the female equivalent with Mark Eden’s Bust Developer.

Mark Eden claims he is “the World’s Most Successful Bust Developer,” which is further verified by this lovely lady who states “My bustline increased from 36″ to a FULL 40″ in just 6 weeks.” Not too shabby when plastic surgery wasn’t as common place in the seventies. But hold on ladies from sending in the $9.95 you nipped from your husband’s wallet for Mark Eden’s miracle bustline developer.

I have a secret for you- my bustline increased that much too and I didn’t have to pay one cent… it’s called pregnancy. Shhh- you might want to keep that one under wraps.

The last ad I wanted to share with you is this touching ad from Hotpoint. The Hotpoint Automatic Ice Bucket. For the family that drinks. Isn’t that cute- that’s the family that drinks when they were just little itty, bitty nippers. I know them now and boy are they a bunch of nasty, middle aged jerks!

Well-I shouldn’t talk,  even I was cuter in 1972.