1980s War on Drugs PSAs do not age well #FdAdFriday

He is pitying the living fuck out of that fool.

Especially when they feature Mr. T and New Edition. (Although I'm not sure Bobby Brown should be giving any lectures about drugs.)



Via Buzzfeed

Creepy 1959 voyeur mag encourages stalking, collecting "pretty girls"

How sleazy could this 1959 ladmag really be? That was a time of wholesomeness and chaste respect for womanhood, right?

In this scanned full issue at Retronaut, you can learn the basics of treating women like trashy conquests, such as:

And:

But don't worry, guys. It's all a big game to those girls. They want it.

See the full issue for a tour-de-force of mid-century repressed male fetishes, including easy foreign gals, farmers' daughters, "the kitten type", big bottoms and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Remember when Canada was horribly racist?

Via Buzzfeed

This poster promoting the Canadian Patriotic Fund, a World War One fundraising effort to help support wives and dependents of Canadian soldiers, is pretty damn offensive by today's standards.

But, almost a century later, we still have a long way to go:

Violations of the basic human rights of Canada's Aboriginal people is still a "Priority Concern" for Amnesty International, and you don't have to look far to see examples of how our country's first populations are still treated like second class citizens.

Sad.

An old-school "software update" #FdAdFriday

Wasn't this a gag in When Harry Met Sally?

And as Copyranter points out, "sporty enough to share" is kind of weird.

Woman loses her mind over a frozen turkey dinner #FdAdFriday

Buzzfeed featured this truly insane Banquet Frozen Dinners ad from the 1960s, claimed to be by legendarily wacky Creative Director Stan Freberg.



I wish someone would pay me to put batshit insane stuff like this on TV.

The five worst Valentine's puns you may read today #vday

via

Via Retronaut

Via

Via Retronaut

Via PETA

Condomize everything! #FdAdFriday

Sure, we have safer sex now. But in the hygiene-obsessed 1940s, they wrapped everything to protect it from contagion:

Via BoingBoing

Wrap that coffee maker! You don't know where it's been...

Are books more interesting than women? #FdAdFriday

BoingBoing posted this piece of over-the-top vintage sexism.

Given the nature of the "literature," I wonder why they didn't address the additional point that the book will "stick together" with you after you're finished.

John Goodman shills for the Egg McMuffin

"You want a McMuffin? I can get you a McMuffin, believe me. There are ways, Dude. You don't wanna know about it, believe me. "

This is apparently fron 1983, when he would have been about 31. And the cashier is Megan Mullally.



Via Buzzfeed

F'd Ad Fridays: House O' Bowies

This odd little ad was originally shot for Vittel mineral water, for European and Japanese markets, in the early 2000s. In it, David Bowie is forced to live with all of his classic alter-egos.



It was later repurposed as an ad for Bowie's last (**sob**) to date album, Reality.

In some ways, I wonder if this is what it's like to live inside his head.

PS: Come back, David! In any guise you choose. We miss you.

F'd Ad Fridays: She's shitting

I have no idea wat they're actually saying, but this vintage Japanese Star Wars ripoff has so much else wrong with it, I might as well think it's about the laxative qualities of canned tuna.



Via illegal advertising

Happy New Year... WTF?

I found this postcard in a box of old family records a few years ago, and just stumbled upon it again in my New Year's cleanup:

Yes, that's what you think it is... but it's also not what you think it is. Here's the back:

Many of you will already be aware that the swastika is a very ancient symbol that was appropriated by the Nazis. That had already happened before 1922, when this card was sent, but it was much better known at the time as a charming old "good luck" symbol.

Here are some other examples:

The innocence of the symbol would soon end, in the west anyway. The swastika is still a popular religious and folkloric insignia in Asia. You can even see it on packaged goods at the Chinese grocery store.

But it still freaks me out. It's just a symbol, but it's one that we've been raised to have a visceral reaction to. From health, wealth and happiness to hate, genocide and war. It's amazing that a little cross could carry so much baggage.

Here's to a year ahead with as little evil as possible.

F'd Ad Fridays: And God bless us every one

I'll leave you with this animated Terry Gilliam Christmas Card from 1968, via Bleeding Cool.



Have a great one. I'll be back next week with my top posts of 2011.

F'd Ad Fridays: The bad old days

Via TrèsSugar

Perhaps life was simpler back then. But can you really call that living?

F'd Ad Fridays: I saw mommy flashing Santa Claus

Via 24 Frames

That dirty old bastard.

F'd Ad Fridays: The creepiest Xmas ad ever

Via Copyranter

Is she dead? A sex doll? Or just drugged?

**brainfreeze**

Best just to leave this one be.

1995 AOL commercial

Isn't that Apollo and Starbuck from the first BSG series?

In 1995, I got my first agency job (after 5 years of freelancing). This is how much things have changed since then:



I'm also amazed how crappy the ad is. The acting and production values made me worried they were about to get naked. But then again, what possible connection could you make between the internet and porn?

F'd Ad Fridays: Jello Green Grotto Salad

No, this is not an Urban Dictionary euphemism for an unspeakable sexual act. But perhaps it should be.

Via Sociological Images.

F'd Ad Fridays: Champale

Enough said.

F'd Ad Fridays: White kosher wine makes you see double

Rarely has booze advertising been so honest. I found this ad in a Google Books scan of a 1973 Ebony magazine.