Have you seen these ads?
They’d be funny if they weren’t so shocking. And if their messages didn’t contribute to the deaths of so many, including my Dad. He died 12 years ago from emphysema after a lifetime of smoking. He began in his teens and at that time it was the thing to do, and remained that way for many years. We all know how powerful advertising is.
Here are more vintage ads showing how “cool” smoking was:
I saved the worst for last. Can you believe they convinced Moms that soda pop is GOOD for babies?! A commenter suggests these are photo-shopped fake ads, I certainly hope so!
Someday it will be clear that we have been duped in similar ways. I can’t wait until it’s common to look back on our low-fat craze with just as much shock and say, “Can you believe they convinced us that butter was bad for our health?!”
(Thanks for passing these along, Jen!)
Angie says
I have a friend who is probably in his late 70’s and is a twin. Because he is a twin, his mother wasn’t able to produce enough milk for him and his brother. He told me that ‘back then’ the first choice was breast milk, second mares’ milk (as in horse), third goat milk, and if all else failed (couldn’t find a lactating woman, horse, or goat), cows’ milk. Being a crazy horse lover, this has always fascinated me.
As for the coke ads, I remember years ago Dr. Pepper was doing a ‘classic ad’ motif on their cans ~ the one which stood out was “10 2 and 4” or maybe 10 2 and 6. The ad? Drink a Dr. Pepper at 10:00, 2:00, and 4:00 for better health!
Pippi says
My dad has a set of dvds of old commercials and one whole dvd is devoted to cigarette commercials. It’s really unbelievable. I don’t remember a doctor one, but I do remember all the opera singers going on about how they smoked Camels. I started university in Classical Voice and I think they would have kicked me out of the program if they caught me smoking!
Christine says
The smoking ones are definitely real. I think I remember a Mad Men episode with the doctor one in it (and that’s not why I think it’s real, but because I’ve seen it before!). I think what’s most atrocious is that they knew about it. I’ve seen people die of lung cancer and emphysema and my old boss, though he didn’t die of emphysema at 72, had it for a good portion of the years before his death and still smoked. He was on oxygen, couldn’t walk a few blocks, and still lit up. Powerful stuff. I agree with the other posters..who knows what we’re being peddled now that is similarly bad for us.
Erin from Long Island says
I have actually seen the smoking ones as well, but there is no way the first soda one is real. The second one might be, though. I say that because I cant really read it and my grandmother told me she used to get orange soda from her mom all the time because she thought it was healthy. Luckily, my grandmother and her brother preferred to shake it up and shoot each other with it!
Jana says
I dont’ know about the soda advertisement, but i’ve looked through vintage LIFE magazines and have seen the one with the doctor and the one with the man blowing smoke in the womans’ face. I’ve also seen ones for PET evaporated milk that advertises it’s healthy to feed to infants. My Mom told me that’s what she gave me. I didn’t tolerate the formulas and it’s the only thing she found I could take. I think the homemade baby formula back then was evaporated milk, water, cod liver oil and something else. My Grandmother fed it to my Mom in the 40’s. It’s a wonder I don’t have more problems!
WK Aiken says
The verbiage in the ads is too contemporary to be from the era it mimics. “Fitting in” wasn’t a concern in the days of conformity and intentional civil obedience. Kinda miss that, actually . . .
As well, a cursory search of the usual websites used for verification can only find what’s called “OP” sources, meaning “Original Post(er).” There is not, and never has been, a “Soda Pop Board of America.”
So, we can be pretty sure they’re fake.
The shame, though, is that folks think the stuff isn’t bad for you at any age, when in fact, as we all know, it’s some of the worst stuff you can consume. Maybe these ads will have the effect of making people think.
Maybe.
Elizabeth @ The Nourished Life says
Hold on a minute. Let me pick my jaw up off the floor.
Okay, wow. That is just mind-boggling. Photo-shopped or not, this is still the message we are getting from modern ads. It’s just a little more subtle (and sometimes not so subtle, I’d wager that coco-puffs aren’t much better than soda and those are definitely pushed hard on the kids).
A couple interesting thoughts: Soda at that time was made of regular sugar, which–although it obviously shouldn’t be a dietary staple–doesn’t hold a candle to high fructose corn syrup, which is so highly altered and chemically processed it belongs in a league of its own.
And, there were traditional cultures (the Kitavans come to mind) who used tobacco quite heavily and were still very healthy. But of course they ate a traditional diet, which I assume is the key.
Katie says
We just watched a documentary called The Beautiful Truth. Although, being a supporter of WAPF I did not agree 100% with the movie, it was still an interesting watch. The movie talked about how we get cancer and mentioned Dr. Price, Fluoride, MSG, amalgam fillings, etc. Anyway, in the movie they show this hole black and white commercial about Camel cigarettes and how most doctors prefer them. I just sat there in complete stunned silence. It was so reinforcing because I was like how is this any different from all the ads we see today on TV for things like toothpaste and pharm drugs? Not to mention all the junk food they try to sell us.
Barbara Grant says
My dad died 11 years ago at age 72 after smoking most of his life. He started as a teen, but quit in his 40’s. But the damage had been done. At the time of his death I heard on the news that a study had decided that the younger a person starts smoking, the more permanent damage is done to the lungs.
Christie says
Oh for Pete’s sakes that is insanity. But I gather it is was not so damaging to drink a soda now and again when the rest of the diet was not as comprised todays. So you had a soda alongside the beef you got from the butcher down the street (who got the cow from a local farmer), and the potatoes and corn you got from the farmers market three days ago, not such a dire situation because in a few hours you would have boiled eggs gotten from the hen house and fresh milk. Put that against today where you have a soda alongside the Hamburger helper (with meat from God knows where), and the french fries from the bag fried in rancid corn oil, and a vegetable that was sprayed with pesticides like crazy and that Soda is doing much more damage now.
Jessie says
That first one about soda seems awfully fake. What is your source for it?
This guy seems to think it is definitely fake:
https://hunternuttall.com/blog/2008/06/cola-is-good-for-babies-fact-or-fiction/
Also, these people seem to think it’s Photoshopped.
https://community.livejournal.com/vintage_ads/479978.html
KitchenKop says
Jessie,
Sorry, your comment went to moderation with the links and I just caught it.
I edited my post to add that these soda pop ads may likely be photo-shopped. They’re just SO bad, that one would hope!
Kelly