Top 10 Incredibly Offensive Vintage Ads

We have come a long way since the 1930s. Back then advertisements were all about the money. It did not matter who they hurt in the process. Just take a look for yourself. Here are ten ads from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s ads that makes the Ku Klux Klan look like a bunch of saints.

10. AC Spark Plugs

In the 1930s, AC Spark Plugs had an ad in The Saturday Evening Post that depicted an African American as being a small monkey in a suit. Many ads during that time used monkeys or small apes in place of African Americans.

9. Aunt Jemima

In 1939, Aunt Jemima was making the best pancakes. Aunt Jemima always used an African American lady who was supposed to be a slave as a spokesperson. On all of the ads, she used “slave” slang.

8. Van Heusen

Van Heusen had an ad for ties that showed a woman on her knees serving a man coffee. When did women become slaves?

7. Del Monte

In 1953, Del Monte ketchup bottles got new lids. The ad was a picture of a woman opening the bottle and it read “You mean a woman can open it?”.

6. Elliott’s White Veneer

In 1935, Elliott’s White Veneer came out with an ad that showed a young African American boy painting another young African American boy with the veneer. It stated “SEE HOW IT COVERS OVER BLACK”.

5. General Electric

In 1937 General Electric became racist, also. They came out with a new ad for a sink. The ad showed an African American lady, who was supposed to be a slave, standing by the sink and saying “I’se Sure Got a Good Job Now!”

4. Drummond Sweaters

Drummond Sweaters came out with a sexist ad that showed two men standing on top of a cliff, talking, while a woman dangled from a rope beneath them. The poster began by saying “Men are better than women”

3. Dacron

Dacron had a very sexist poster ad. The ad showed a picture of a lady on the floor with a rug for a body. A man was then standing on her head and was saying ” It’s nice to have a girl around the house”.

2. Cream of Wheat

Cream of Wheat had a poster ad of an African American man holding a chalkboard with a message written on it. Several words were misspelled as to say African Americans were ignorant.

1. Fairy Soap

Fairy Soap had a poster ad of a young white girl asking a young African American girl “Why doesn’t your Mama wash you with Fairy Soap?”. This siuggesting that African Americans were dirty.