Funny Vintage Ads (46)

 

 Advertising has always been an interesting way to look at history. But when you see these vintage advertisements, the past seems a lot stranger than you thought.

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Cockroach racetracks were just one of the many products sold by the International Mutoscope Reel Company, but the sales weren't enough to save the company from bankruptcy in 1949.

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"...behind her twinkling eyes lies tragedy -- and each line and wrinkle that etches her face marks the hardship and responsibility she had to face after her husband passed away." Subtle!

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"In seven brilliant Coney Island colors. Let the ‘wet look’ softcore chair make your rooms come alive. Pump the chair full of beer and throw a party."

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The first life-sized tricorder replica was produced by Mego Corporation in 1976 and was actually a cassette tape player.

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 The Indiana Silo & Tractor Company started out as the Star Tractor Company of Findlay, Ohio. The Star tractor introduced in 1917, could do the work of 5 horses.

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"Dedicated foe of evil. Defender of the weak. Champion of truth and justice" ... with a very odd-shaped head.

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As an added bonus the helmet acts as a sauna for your face.

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"And it can also function just like a calculator — something a desktop computer can’t do." The TRS-80 Pocket Computer was first introduced in 1980.

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This advertisement promoting the sale of enslaved Africans was published in the 1780s in the South Carolina Gazette and paid for by a prominent firm that imported enslaved Africans to Charleston. The ad stresses that they are free of smallpox, a common disease on the Atlantic crossing.

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Kellogg's All Bran: it’s number one for number two.

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The Worcester Skirt Company was founded in 1861 in Worcester, Massachusetts, by David Hale Fanning. It specialized in making hoopskirts to support the full skirts that were in vogue. In 1872, the company began making corsets and was renamed the Worcester Corset Company.

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The perfect gift for your little commando.

Pull back on the calibrated loader, and send the plastic grenade sailing 30 feet through the air.

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In 1869, Daniel F. Packer, an adventurer and entrepreneur, invented and sold “Packer’s All Healing Tar Soap”. Pine tar soap has antibacterial and antifungal properties and  is designed to be gentle to the skin.This famous soap now called “Packer’s Pine Tar Soap”, has been marketed continuously for over 150 years.

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IBM started by combining several companies that built devices to automate routine business transactions, including the first punched card based data tabulating machines and time clocks. Today IBM holds more patents than any other U.S. based technology company.

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The ad copy would work well for a boner pill, but Kurtis Party Tabs was probably just caffeine.
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They are not laughing with you, they are laughing at your bike.

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A common theme for recruiting posters during World War One was mothers volunteering their sons for military service.

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Turns out Chesterfield's "Science" was just as fake as Arthur Godfrey's folksy charm.

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 The FDA allowed polystyrene to be added in small amounts to baked goods, frozen dairy products, candy, gelatins, puddings and other food until 2018.

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In 1937, Ice Industries developed a refrigerator that not only cooled but regulated its humidity and filtered the air.

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Eliminate costly hair repair bills NOW!
In the 1970s, British men could (apparently) rent hair.

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"That Battle-ax expression is more often caused by nervous tension than by temper!" Or maybe an ill-fitting sanitary pad!

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“Cascarets,” is derived from the bitter tasting bark of a species of buckthorn tree. Cascara had been prescribed by druggists as a remedy for constipation and related ills as early as 1877. But it was not until 1894 that the Sterling Remedy Company came up with a candy version.

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Tangee Cosmetics began in the 1920s by George William Luft. The name Tangee came from the word tangerine because of the color of the brand’s most iconic product, the Tangee natural lipstick.

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Early speedometers measured up to 60 mph, and included an odometer and a trip meter.

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Bromides are a class of tranquilizers that were withdrawn from the U.S. market in 1975 due to their toxicity. Their sedative effect probably accounted for Bromo-Seltzer's popularity as a hangover remedy.

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Ads for the air freshener Mentholine claimed it could cure everything from headache to sciatica.

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Spangles were introduced to the British public in 1950, when sweets and sugar were still rationed because of World War 2, and you needed points in your ration book to buy them.

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In the 1930s, advertisements for purchasing baby gators by mail were common in magazines. This ad offered a free gator in return for two subscriptions to a magazine called, "Open Road for Boys."

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Asbestos siding was used extensively in buildings and homes from the 1930s until the 1970s, when its use was banned.

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Buy a No Soliciting Sign
That Really Works!