20 American Ads That Prove The ‘Good Old Days’ Never Existed

Anybody who talks about how good the “good old days” were, either has a bad memory or wasn’t there!

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My mom forwarded me an email from my grandma Joan yesterday. The subject line read:

Ads From Before Your Time

And below that she wrote:

Anybody who talks about how good the “good old days” were, either has a bad memory or wasn’t there!

Here are some ads before there was ‘truth in advertising’.    How times have changed and somehow stayed the same.

After looking through them I saw what she meant…

1. Besides the problematic writing, the look on the guy’s face is creepier than Hitchock’s ‘Psycho’

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2. A reason to appreciate the iPhone (as pissed off as we may be after shattering the screen a million times).

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3. Actually kind of wish I had this dress…

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4. This seems healthy.

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5. “Now there’s no need to be ‘skinny’ and friendless…”– YIKES.

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6. Fuck yeah she can.

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7. “For Your Health”: Something about this feels backwards…

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8. Is she wearing pointe shoes?

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9. I can make an educated guess that it’s definitely too soon.

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10. Pre-Starbucks I guess.

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11. Poor babies!!

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12. Mom may be on the warpath but dad has small hands!

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13. Where’s her waist?

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14. “Come on you sunners!”/ Flash these creepy twin men!

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15. “You— as an expectant mother— really should wear a corset.” WTF.

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16. Wait… this must be a joke.

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17. Looks like I won’t be sleeping tonight after seeing this…

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18. Oh men!

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19. It seems Santa hasn’t always been nice.

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20. I don’t even get this and don’t really want to.

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So despite all of our world issues (of which there are many), I’m happy to not be eating penicillin bread, while chain-smoking cigarettes while being measured for an ironing table and waiting for my baby to arrive in cellophane. Thought Catalog Logo Mark


About the author

Jane Drinkard

A Brooklyn girl at college in L.A. Committed to travel and understanding people.

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