Beyond Belief – Jaw-Dropping ‘Golden Age of Madison Avenue’ Advertisements

Using babies to sell cigarettes was surprisingly common in the 1950s. Malboro ran an entire campaign using ‘talking babies’, aiming to sell smoking as a suitable family-friendly activity. (Malboro 1953)

Offensive, misleading, racist, sexist and dishonest, countless adverts created in the so-called ‘Golden Age of Madison Avenue’ are inconceivable to modern eyes. With no industry body to regulate them the much-revered ‘Ad Men’ were free to go to any lengths to sell their clients’ products – and did so. From using babies to peddle cigarettes to telling women that their husbands would leave them if they didn’t but certain items, nothing was off limits. Founder of global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, Charles Saatchi has gathered more than 100 of the most shocking campaigns in his latest book Beyond Belief, showing some jaw-dropping examples of non-PC salesmanship.  – Yahoo News.

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Racism was rife in early 20th century advertising. This advert demonstrated the effectiveness of white paint by having a black child use it to paint his friend’s skin. (Elliots)

Using babies to sell cigarettes was surprisingly common in the 1950s. Malboro ran an entire campaign using ‘talking babies’, aiming to sell smoking as a suitable family-friendly activity. (Malboro 1953)

Using babies to sell cigarettes was surprisingly common in the 1950s. Malboro ran an entire campaign using ‘talking babies’, aiming to sell smoking as a suitable family-friendly activity. (Malboro 1953)

A ban on the direct advertising and marketing of cigarettes came into force in 2003 in the UK. Not so back in 1930, when doctors were used to sell them and there was no obligation to inform people about the health risks. (Lucky Strike 1930)

Alcohol and driving make poor companions, but that didn’t seem to bother the makers of this advert for a beer dispenser in your car, which it describes as ‘invaluable in traffic jams’. (Bock Auto Bar Company)

This unashamedly offensive advert for Alco HyTop lids boasts that even women with their ‘dainty grasp’ could open this bottle cap. (Alco Aluminum 1953)