Sexist advertising that is based on differing gender roles, objectifying women, portraying them as weak, second-class, and the plaything of men emerged in America in the 1950s.
Advertisers have eagerly resorted to this primitive and manipulative tool: the agencies of Madison Avenue played a significant role in the rise of sexist advertisements.
An important element of 1950s advertisements is perfection. In this universe, beautiful homes and car wonders, smiling, happy people are all embodiments of the American Dream. But this perfect world was built on a rigid hierarchy, in which women had precisely defined roles. Their task was to be good mothers and grateful wives who happily take care of all household chores. Their only purpose in life is to make men happy.
This distorted and one-dimensional portrayal has been expanded over the years with additional elements: the woman is vulnerable, weak, silly, her body is the property of the man. Just a plaything, who can be spanked if she doesn't grasp the (marketing) message at first.
In headlines, the inferior, clumsy, flawed, and awkward woman often appears.
„Don't be sad, dear, you didn't burn the beer.”
„Blow the smoke in her face and she'll follow you anywhere.”
With the devaluation of femininity, the superior man rises, who is a great father, an excellent lover, an attractive and witty ruler of this universe.
Although these press advertisements are shocking and repulsive by today's standards, sexism, in a different guise, is just as much a part of our daily lives as it was in the 1950s. This is evidenced by the 2017 project in which the headlines of 1950s sexist advertisements were replaced with President Trump's statements related to femininity.
The end result is disheartening: the transformed advertisements not only prove to be worthy successors but also surpass the early sexist ads.
Part of this perception includes advertisements that can still be seen today, where the poor silly woman doesn't understand why the clothes are dirty, but the smart guy explains that a water softener needs to be used….
By the way, the Bref advertisement is no better in terms of quality, where the man is the fool for not knowing that the toilet from Bref is always fresh and fragrant.
I know it's hard to come up with something original, but these are so boring….