35 Offensively Sexist Vintage Ads

Published March 21, 2014
Updated March 14, 2019

From the mustache trainer to PEP Vitamins for women to whatever a health jolting chair is, these vintage ads are both hilarious and highly offensive.

Cocaine Drops
Vintage Ads It's A Mans World
Mustache Trainer
Kill A Woman
35 Offensively Sexist Vintage Ads
View Gallery

If you want to understand the history and culture of a particular place, looking through their older advertisements would be a great place to start. The advertisement is the glossy, pop cultural meeting point between supply and demand, where marketing pros make clear who they think is buying their product and for what reasons. And as these ads make apparent, marketers have drawn on just about anything to make potential customers' eyes stick.

The advertisements featured below demonstrate the great social strides we have made since their publication, but also highlight the thinking that has helped shape our culture for centuries.

From mustache trainers to whatever Chill's Tasteless Chill Tonic is, these vintage ads are sure to tickle you. I mean, you never know when you'll need a health jolting chair, which was marketed as a practical household substitute for the saddle horse.

While some of the ads are hilarious, others are insanely offensive such as the one for a pamphlet of secret Asian lovemaking tips. Some are even more distasteful than these sexist beer ads. For example, could you imagine an ad featuring a wife being spanked today? Or one that showed a man mocking a wife for ruining dinner?

Companies such as Ben-Gay and 7-Up even dabbled in the business of misinformed and strange ads. But hey, they must have done something right to stick around this long. I mean at least they're not cocaine drops.

Here are thirty-five of the most bizarre items we've come across.


Enjoyed these sexist vintage ads? Be sure to check out black and white photos restored in brilliant color and ingeniously creative ads that will make you think twice. Then, check out some of history's most offensive sexist ads. And be sure to like All That Is Interesting on Facebook before you go!

author
Erin Kelly
author
An All That's Interesting writer since 2013, Erin Kelly focuses on historic places, natural wonders, environmental issues, and the world of science. Her work has also been featured in Smithsonian and she's designed several book covers in her career as a graphic artist.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.