I love a good vintage ad. No only for the styling but also, it’s interesting to see how people viewed certain foods and drinks – especially when it comes to coca cola. But it’s even more interesting now, with the start of the sugar tax to see just how much sugar was pushed as a health tonic.
In fact, that’s exactly what coca-cola was when it was first launched, a brain tonic that supposedly cured headaches, anxiety, indigestion, addiction and depression.
It just goes to show that since the marketing companies took control of the food industry, we’ve been told that we need things like coke, chocolate – and in the case of some of these adverts, even cocaine, to give us energy and make us feel better.
What do you think?
What do you think – any vintage ad’s that stick in your mind?
I love vintage adverts. There’s one of a man spanking a woman but I can’t for the life of me remember what it’s for. It’s so interesting on a social history level.
This one? Unbelievably for coffee!!
Yes, that’s the one 🙂 Good find.
I don’t really remember any of those (I’m probably too young) but I cringe looking back on some old adverts from the 90’s, usually chocolate based ones like an old Galaxy advert x
You won’t remember them, they’re from the 1920s – 1950’s 🙂
I actually find these really fascinating to look out it is amazing how advertising as changed over the years. x
Lol gosh I can’t believe they had such ads back then. Oh my so funny. Kids taking coke for social acceptance ????
Oh my goodness, the lack of research back in the day really shows. I had no idea they talked about sugar like that!
I love these sorts of adverts, I can’t believe how they sold Coca Cola. Nowadays you wouldn’t be able to do that without proper evidence to back up your claims! X
E I can’t believe some of these… cocaine tooth drops!! What one earth!! xxx
They certainly were works of art, these vintage ads! Much better than the scantily clad women trying to sell us things these days, even though they clearly didn’t know about nutrition!
I love looking at how marketing and advertising has evolved over the years. Wish we had done more of that when I studied marketing at uni. I howled laughing at the Cocaine Toothache Drops ad.
I remember my dad used to own some old advertising from the 50s and it used to amaze me how different the advertising was from back then x
There’s nothing I love more than checking out vintage tv ads on Youtube in my spare time, some of them are so cringeworthy!
Oh wow these are fascinating to look at – so different from now!
I love looking back at stuff like this. People used to believe in such strange things! I wonder if people will look back at our ads one day and think the same thing… I love that coke is ‘palatable and healthful’ – I’d like to see them try put that on an ad today!
oh wow! can’t believe that they thought cocaine was good for toothache! with kids on the ad! Amazing how far we have come since then
i have worked in the dental industry to a long time and cocaine used to be used as an anaesthetic, rub it into your gumms and it makes them go numb!
I actually love them my aunt has a lot of canvas pictures and mental signs in her kitchen of these
great post! it is fascinating to see, some people do say the older ways are the best sometimes, but not in these cases me thinks!