Vintage Ads That Show Just How Much Society Has Changed

Unless the Super Bowl is on, commercials are arguably the worst part of media. Every 30-second bite-sized ad spot is painful and repetitive when it's keeping you from the end of your favorite show! But how did we get to this point? Have commercials always been so despised? So in your face or obnoxious? Vintage ads show just how much we've changed as a society — and how much we've stayed the same.

First Radio Commercials

In 1922, you could have tuned in to WEAF New York and heard the first commercial put over the radio. Although the use of broadcast to sell was prohibited at the time, H.M. Blackwell found a way around the law: For ten minutes, he simply talked about the luxuries of living at Queens’ Hawthorne Apartments.

Pharmaceuticals Start Manipulating

Back in the early 1920s, Tragic Edna served as the spokeswoman for Listerine. She suffered from halitosis, or bad breath, and in a series of ads, the Lambert Pharmaceutical Company suggested its product was the cure. Before this campaign, breath was not considered a medical problem. The company made it into one to sell a product.

Ford Advertises To All

Henry Ford knew how to advertise to everyone. Unlike most company's ads, Ford didn't only target men, creating campaigns for women, too. Using the tagline, "Freedom to the woman who owns a Ford," the car became a symbol of complete control.

Wheaties Makes a Jingle

Then, in 1926, Wheaties created the first radio jingle, "Have You Tried Your Wheaties?" which used a Christmas Eve-inspired tune. Execs wanted listeners to catch an ear worm that wouldn't go away — one that suggested which the best breakfast cereal might be. Wheaties played another prominent role in advertising.