Fun with 50s ads, Part II

I kind of got on a roll the other day when I was gathering up all these humorous ads from the Ladies’ Home Journal collection from the 50s. Here’s another round of some great ads, with a few more manic zombies thrown in. (Yes, I realize that “manic zombie” is a bit of an oxymoron. But it works for me.)

Yeah, yeah … I took a picture of the picture rather than scanning it. Scanning is kind of a pain in the butt, y’know? It was so much easier to prop this book against the recliner, holding it steady with my foot, while I leaned back and tried to take an in-focus picture with a lens that didn’t like taking a picture that close. Despite the fuzziness, lean in good and try to read the caption (click on pic to get a larger view). If your contacts are really dry and you can’t see much of anything (like me), this is what it says: “It’s the lack of anything better to do that’s responsible for scenes like this. A hobby is often the best solution.”

I bet those boys thought they WERE engaging in a hobby.

And the husband looks like he’s quite satisfied too … or will be later. Wifey is all distracted by the flirting, glopping frosting on the cake like a toddler. Kind of suggestive for the 50s, it seems.

Satin, a rose, and a thick slab of meat. Three totally unrelated item, but lo, they are all joined by a common element: these three things look so much better when viewed in the correct lighting.

Believe it or not, this is from an ad for light bulbs; in fact, I think it was even an ad for fluorescent lighting. I can understand the satin and the rose … but meat?! Who looks at a slab of meat and admires the way it appears in a certain light? (Perhaps the finger-lickin’ husband in the oven ad … that seems like his kind of thing.)

I bet these two had the best parties on the block! Unfortunately, their “fun room” seems to be horribly misnamed. The fruit is the most festive thing in the room … and the paneling doesn’t help matters any.

An ad for screens, and a confusing one at that. I too would slop paint all over myself and the ground if my parents cheerfully popped through the screen at a moment’s notice. Watch the hands, dad.

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