Have you ever noticed how people above a certian age tend to continue doing that thing that the rest of us gave up long ago: forarding jokes and curiorisities via email to their entire address book? The rest of us tend to take to ‘opt-in’ social networks for that sort of thing.
I mention it because the pictures that follow were forwarded to me by just such a gentleman. They’re old adverts that, let’s just say, you’re not likely to see again. How apt that the chap who sent them to me is old enough to remember some of them when they first appeared.
It’s hard not to look through these and be incredulous that they were ever deemed not only appropriate but likely to persuade anyone to buy anything. Still, looking back a few decades with the benefit of hindsight and then mocking or criticising is all too easy . I won’t do so. Instead, I invite you to browse the ads and I challenge you not to raise a smile at most of them…
Oh, and while you’re browsing, you might notice that only two brands here are still in use: Motorola and Camel. The former of course is now part of Google. The latter? Well, you’re not likely to see it advertising much in the future.
Andrew Carrier
InMarketing 