Marketing history: ads that mirror consumer madness
Analysis of historical ads: from slave sales in 1846 to 1980s TV scams. Advertising as a mirror of history.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
From slavery to TV scams: the evolution of attention-grabbing advertising
What does the press from a century ago tell us about capitalism? Old advertising is a brutal, often grotesque, mirror of the antiestéticars, desires, and broken promises of each era.
The historical journey of ads in newspapers and magazines, spanning from the 19th century to the late 20th century, reveals a fascinating—and often disturbing—metamorphosis of commercial discourse. Far from being simple sales tools, these posters are social documents that narrate the ambition of the bourgeoisie, the promise of technological pogre, and, in many cases, the crudest exploitation.
The era of luxury and the promise of pogre (19th century - 1950s)
By the late 19th century, the ad was already a piece of persuasive art. Examples from the time, though they seem anachronistic today, reflected a society where luxury was a spectacle. Posters from the booming automobile industry, such as the Simca 1000 Gran Lujo, showed the press's ability to sell class aspirations. However, the discourse of the time was not always pristine: examples from 1846 have been recovered that, with scandalous coldness, offered the sale of people, highlighting the impunity of the era regarding slavery.
The transition to the mid-20th century consolidated this trend. Ads for airlines like Iberia or car brands like Seat showed an optimization of the message. One could see how the monetary value of the time was measured in points, as in 1954, where 1,000 points equaled 400 euros, a fact that underscores the shift in economic paradigm.
The golden age of scams and exaggeration (1980s and 1990s)
The second half of the 20th century brought an explosion of mass advertising, characterized by hyper-promises and the commodification of personal life. TV guides from the 1980s, such as Teleprograma or Supertele, were filled with mail-order ads that operated on the thin line between opportunity and fraud. They sold CCC courses, X-ray glasses, or spy gadgets with outrageous promises of success: "Learn German" or "Become an airplane mechanic."
This period was also marked by uninhibited advertising of sensitive products. Cigarette ads, for example, used three key words—ammonia, four-tonalidad printing, and women—to generate aggressive seduction. Later, condom advertising, though focused on preventing STDs, often presented them as reusable and washable methods, a strategy now viewed with deep skepticism.
The body of the message: from aspiration to pathology
The most revealing aspect of these archives is how advertising dared to invade the intimate sphere and health. From luxury products to weight-loss schemes that proposed the voluntary ingestion of intestinal parasites, marketing operated with almost pathological audacity. Even in men's underwear, advertising displayed a macho and heteronormative vision, reflecting the prejudices of its time.
The history of advertising, therefore, is not a chronicle of brands, but a record of collective psychology. While the promise of a Simca 1000 Gran Lujo remains a dream, the ease with which scams were sold—from courses to parasites—shows that humanity has always been more susceptible to urgency and illusion than to the cold data of reality.
Related debates in the forum
What does the press from a century ago tell us about capitalism? Old advertising is a brutal, often grotesque, mirror of the antiestéticars, desires, and broken promises of each era.
The historical journey of ads in newspapers and magazines, spanning from the 19th century to the late 20th century, reveals a fascinating—and often disturbing—metamorphosis of commercial discourse. Far from being simple sales tools, these posters are social documents that narrate the ambition of the bourgeoisie, the promise of technological pogre, and, in many cases, the crudest exploitation.
The era of luxury and the promise of pogre (19th century - 1950s)
By the late 19th century, the ad was already a piece of persuasive art. Examples from the time, though they seem anachronistic today, reflected a society where luxury was a spectacle. Posters from the booming automobile industry, such as the Simca 1000 Gran Lujo, showed the press's ability to sell class aspirations. However, the discourse of the time was not always pristine: examples from 1846 have been recovered that, with scandalous coldness, offered the sale of people, highlighting the impunity of the era regarding slavery.
The transition to the mid-20th century consolidated this trend. Ads for airlines like Iberia or car brands like Seat showed an optimization of the message. One could see how the monetary value of the time was measured in points, as in 1954, where 1,000 points equaled 400 euros, a fact that underscores the shift in economic paradigm.
The golden age of scams and exaggeration (1980s and 1990s)
The second half of the 20th century brought an explosion of mass advertising, characterized by hyper-promises and the commodification of personal life. TV guides from the 1980s, such as Teleprograma or Supertele, were filled with mail-order ads that operated on the thin line between opportunity and fraud. They sold CCC courses, X-ray glasses, or spy gadgets with outrageous promises of success: "Learn German" or "Become an airplane mechanic."
This period was also marked by uninhibited advertising of sensitive products. Cigarette ads, for example, used three key words—ammonia, four-tonalidad printing, and women—to generate aggressive seduction. Later, condom advertising, though focused on preventing STDs, often presented them as reusable and washable methods, a strategy now viewed with deep skepticism.
The body of the message: from aspiration to pathology
The most revealing aspect of these archives is how advertising dared to invade the intimate sphere and health. From luxury products to weight-loss schemes that proposed the voluntary ingestion of intestinal parasites, marketing operated with almost pathological audacity. Even in men's underwear, advertising displayed a macho and heteronormative vision, reflecting the prejudices of its time.
The history of advertising, therefore, is not a chronicle of brands, but a record of collective psychology. While the promise of a Simca 1000 Gran Lujo remains a dream, the ease with which scams were sold—from courses to parasites—shows that humanity has always been more susceptible to urgency and illusion than to the cold data of reality.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (592 replies).
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