The Most Jaw Dropping, Nostalgic, and Outrageous Ads from Vintage House Beautiful Magazines
From jaw-droppingly rude to sweetly nostalgic and straight-up absurd.
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House Beautiful dates all the way back to the late 1800s, and one of the most exciting parts of working at a historic brand is having access to primary documents in the form of vintage magazines. As a former media studies student, I thought it'd be interesting to dig into the archives and (maybe over) analyze old advertisements to see where on the spectrum of shockingly problematic to harmlessly nostalgic they'd fall. As expected, I encountered vacuums peddled alongside cigarettes and the occasional bathroom scale—it turns out the Mad Men in the room had no problem performing mental gymnastics to weave oppressive beauty standards into campaigns for otherwise benign household items—and luckily didn't experience any ghosts leaping out of the dusty pages begging to be set free from the confines of ugly linoleum kitchens and oddly sexualized situations (looking at you, early 2000s).
Needless to say, this time-traveling exercise was a fascinating and entertaining one, as well a good reminder to stay savvy and consume with a responsible eye (especially in the day of targeted Instagram ads that know your most vulnerable vices and out-of-budget wishlists). So I figured I'd spread the fun! Amidst all the outrageous examples worth framing as satirical statements and even sweet attempts to keep up with the changing tides of technology, I selected the top ads from each decade to spotlight ahead for everyone reading to get a glimpse into a bygone time. Keep reading to see the most wow-worthy ads from every decade starting with the 50s (sadly, I physically wasn't able to lift the box that stored any pre-1940s issues). You'll drop your jaw, you'll probably roll your eyes, you'll definitely laugh at least once, and you might even remember some of these from your own glory days.
Best of the 1970s
These dishwasher ads just keep getting better and better. Sadly for this one, it stopped being manufactured after the '70s (though you can still shop the brand's disposal and dishwasher connector online).
Best of the 1980s
"The candelabra was a wedding present from Susan and Bob, and every time they come over, we break it out. It's a tradition, just like the Baileys," says, I'm guessing, the woman in the purple. I can't believe they just admitted that they hide the ugly gift and have to frantically locate it and light it up when Susan and Bob come over.
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