When it comes to fashion advertising, it's no secret that sex sells, but according to the ads of the past, sexism sells.
Back in the day, these sexist advertisements were completely normal. A man stepping on a woman's head (which is attached to a tiger-skin rug? Sure. Women getting spanked? Totally okay. Simply stating that men are better than women? That was fine too.
It's hard to believe any of these ads were selling clothing and/or beauty products, but they were. And even though they should seem shocking, it's not hard to believe that they really did work. (If we've learned anything from "Mad Men," it's that the ad world was run by a bunch of alpha males selling male dominance to other men.)
One ad in particular that sticks out is for Van Heusen ties, which says, "Show her it's a man's world," above an illustration of a man being served breakfast in bed by a kneeling blond woman, clad in a pink robe.
Now, in today's day and age, vintage fashion ads don't really hold up. However, women are still being used, in many ways, to sell products (everything from dish soap to nail polish and even perfume seems to sell a little better when there's plenty of female flesh showing it off). We guess some things just never change.
Have a look for yourself at some of the outrageously sexist ads of the past:
