Say what you will about the current age of advertising, what with all the celebrity sell-outs and general ickiness and our inability to get particular jingles out of our heads. But at least our ads aren't filled with utterly disturbing images that will haunt your very dreams tonight.
My guitar-ninjaing friend Trace thoughtfully introduced me to this list of 15 Creepy Vintage Ads and so I feel the need to share a few of them with you. If only so we can be disturbed together. You know how it's always better to watch a horror film in a packed-out theater rather than alone on your couch under a blanket? Think of this the same way.
Behold some creepy vintage ads:
Daddy? Where does sausage come from?
Well, honey, think of a happy pig.
Like Wilbur?
Yes, just like Wilbur from Charlotte's Web, but holding a really sharp sword with his hoof.
How can he hold a sword with a hoof?
That doesn't matter. What matters is that the pig is using the sword to divide himself into these little piggy slices by cutting through his stomach, kind of like Mommy does when she cuts up a cucumber, only instead of cucumber slices it's a bloody stack of pig pieces. Apparently that's how you got sausage back in the old days. Now...who's ready for breakfast? 
Nothing says "peace on Earth, goodwill to men" like a square dad, a happy mom, and a family of three boys inspecting their new weaponry. A few months later, the same family celebrated Easter with a cage match between little Johnny and middle-child Pete.
A scene from a Hathaway dress shirt photo shoot:
Creative Director: This shot isn't working. We've got a handsome man in a dress shirt. That's not interesting. How can we make this interesting?
Assistant Creative Director: What if we replaced the conference room background with, I don't know, a cage at the zoo?
Creative Director: I love it! And instead of a cup of coffee, he can be holding a baby tiger!
(Silence.)
Prop Guy: Um...I'm not sure I can find a baby tiger on such short notice. Let me make some calls.
(A pirate appears.)
Pirate: Arrrgh, ye mateys. Avast! Shiver me timbers! Fo'c's'le, etc.
Creative Director (to Prop Guy): While you're asking about the tiger, go ahead and order me up an eyepatch, too. What we need is a handsome man, with an eyepatch, at the zoo, holding a baby tiger. If that doesn't sell stripey dress shirts, then I'm a sword-wielding pig!
I don't know about you, but if I'm ever at a beach, at night, in the vicinity of a toddler who just got crushed by a giant teacup that fell from the sky during some kind of fantastic rainstorm...well, I'm going to ask for Pears' Soap.
My understanding of the French language is limited, but according to the French-English dictionary I just visited, Chocolat Poulain is French for "giant terrifying clown." And goutez et comparez is French for "drinking your blood from a teacup, the same teacup which he might drop on your toddler at the beach, at night."
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Sweet dreams, everyone. More of these at Retro Comedy.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Ads That Will Give You the Willies
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5 comments:
Um...wow. There are no other words. I went and looked at the original post. Those ads from the '50's with how women and "chubby girls" were depicted...oh my heck ;-)
in the words of alex trebek: "simply stunning"
I was watching the History channel and discovered you were among the confused.. The creation story is related twice, one was of the spiritual creation. Just as we concieve of an idea like say designing a car. Then the actual physical creation is next step. Trying to identify the Garden is impossible without devine guidence Since inthe Bible the Earth was one land mass. And is accepted by scientist today as Pangea. The flood and movement of the Earths plates. YOu might also note that The bible is more correct than Scientist because the Big Bang is the theory of creation. The Bible says Let there be LIGHT which is more correct for you would not hear sound but you would see the explosion. Obviously also after you note AFTER Noah landed on Aaratt the natural place to start cultivation again would be Mesopetania. Which explains why they had a corrupted story of the Garden and a flood story.
Open the mind be not blind.
jerry
sorry was written quickly pangea s/b patagonia.
Those are scary ads. A good example on what a graphic designer should not do. These ads would frighten children.
For some odd reason, the guy on the last ad reminds me of V for Vendetta. A good reason to not drink that hot chocolate. XD
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