Marlboro Man, Twiggy, Spuds McKenzie, and more - all these characters have flashed through the pages of advertising history as quickly as the generations that brought them in. Billions of dollars are spent on advertising each year, bringing in enormous profits for the manufacturer as well as the advertising agency. Advertising strategies have changed significantly over the last four decades, shifting as rapidly as public opinion.
In the 1950's, advertising geared itself toward the acceptable gender roles of the era, blue-collar men dominated the work force while women stayed at home. For example, a Life magazine ad for Anacin pictured a woman holding a bag of groceries in one hand, with the other hand on her forehead, declaring she had "Housewife Headache." The slogan read, "When boredom and emotional fatigue bring on household headache...take Anacin." The ad proceeded to define household headache as fatigue and nervous tension caused by making beds, getting meals, and acting as family chauffeur; in the next sentence, the ad referred to these chores as "tiresome daily work, a mild form of torture, and boring yet necessary tasks." The same magazine displayed a Tareyton cigarette ad which featured a blue-collar man with a black eye, proclaiming "[He'd] rather fight than switch!" A few pages over, another ad pictured the local grocery store butcher, with a cigarette dangling from his wholesome grin, carrying groceries for a "housewife" while she smilingly told the audience, "Tell someone you like about Larks, he may do something nice for you."
Such gender stereotyping began to fade out as the Sixties rolled in, bringing us Jackie Kennedy, Yves St. Laurent, Twiggy, and the Marlboro man. Public opinion became radical as well as reserved. Women's fashion took a ninety-degree turn, as did the focus of advertising. Clothing designers set the trends for women using famous women, as well as women they made famous, to advertise their lines of clothing. They put Twiggy on the cover of every major magazine, displaying tall, skinny legs covered by a "miniskirt," creating the "look" of the Sixties and a new life for Twiggy. Vogue magazine painted its covers with mannequin-like models parading down Paris runways clothed in see-through tops, giving new definition to the term "vogue." At the same time, advertisers also focused on the conservative population, marketing the "pill box hat" and "A-line suit" made popular by Jackie Kennedy. Here emerged the strategy of using celebrities to market products; designers copied everything Jackie wore, and American women mimicked her. Likewise, the portrayal of men in advertising took a turn. "Marlboro Man" surfaced, introducing the "cowboy" with a cigarette tucked in the corner of his mouth; adjusting the saddle on his horse, he repeats the slogan, "Come to where the flavor is, come to Marlboro country." Men became sex objects as the Mennen Company created the mind set that when a man slaps Hi-Karate cologne on his neck, beautiful women attack. Noxema introduced the "catchy tune" approach, "Let Noxema cream your face, so the razor don't!" while female hands smeared shaving cream on the beards of handsome men from behind their backs. As a result, the Sixties opened the door for the marketing of men's beauty products.
Expanding on the ideas of the Sixties, men in the 1970's began purchasing products to improve their appearance as women became more influenced by the media's projection in the "in look." Photographs of gorgeous, provocatively dressed women pasted on billboards billowed out over expressways, inviting passersby to "Take Black Velvet Whiskey home with [them] tonight"; Cheryl Tiegs became the centerfold for Virginia Slims cigarettes while proclaiming, "We've come a long way, baby." Television commercials featured gorgeous men in ads for Stetson cologne, Shick razors, and Vidal Sasoon hair products, breaking ground for untraditional roles for men.
As we emerged into the Eighties, celebrities appeared frequently as spokespersons for advertising; beer commercials gained an audience; and, women over the age of forty began "getting better," not older. As examples, Linda Evans became the advocate for L'Oreal hair products giving credence to the phrase, "I use L'Oreal because I'm worth it!" while Elizabeth Taylor marketed "Passion." In the same arena, Michael Jackson moonwalked across a concert stage for the Pepsi generation as Coke counterattacked with Elton John. Beer commercials also bombarded television, introducing the use of surreal characters and situations into advertising; beer soon became synonymous with sports and a good time as bottles of Budlite tackled bottles of Budweiser on a football field causing fans to bet on the outcome of the beer battle rather than the Super Bowl. Fans did the wave in the bleachers while shouting, "tastes great, less filling"; college kids carried "Spuds McKenzie" around their shoulders at the beach.
Beer advertising in the 1990's became even more outrageous. The Nineties brought in the Swedish ski team, perfect blond bombshells in bikinis, who appear out of nowhere to the surprise of clean-cut guys standing in a desert. As they stare in amazement, a truck drives up, opens its back door onto a ramp and rolls out a built-in swimming pool, jukebox, and barrels of ice cold beer! Sports stars became the new spokespersons, as basketball stars Magic Johnson and Michael Jordon flashed their smiles across boxes of Wheaties, and tennis star Andre Agassi strutted down the tennis court in his Nike tennis shoes shouting, "Just do it!"
Advertising changed dramatically over the last four decades to keep up with the radical changes in public opinion. As public opinion shifted from stereotyped to liberated roles for women, from blue-collar to fashionable roles for men, and from celebrity to sports star idols, so did advertising.