Can You Believe These Car Ads?
Whether portrayed as simpletons or sex symbols, women have had some tough breaks in auto ads.
Car advertisements have been around as long as automobiles themselves, but while cars can turn into classics after a few decades, these just seem a little…outdated.
By 1920, there were 7.5 million cars registered in the U.S. – roughly one for every 14 Americans, according to Road & Track. The boom in car-owning families changed the way vehicles were advertised. Rather than boasting of cars’ functionality, car advertisers relied on creating romanticized scenes: happy families taking camping trips, or wealthy couples embarking on lavish vacations.
Women in these ads were often portrayed as hapless bystanders, or housewives more concerned with a car’s appearance than its functionality:
1931
Oldsmobile
“She tries to learn the auto so, he lets her steer while he gets her ear, and whispers soft and low.’’
(Jump to 3:30 for the ad.)
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1950
Mercury
“What does he mean…glove compartment?’’
1963
Volkswagen
“Will she say “Yes’’ to a camping trip after 50 straight weeks of cooking?’’
1966
Volkswagen
“The price of a brand new one — $1639* — isn’t much higher than the price of a brand new wife.’’
1968
GM Oldsmobile Toronado
“Men admire its command of the road. Women, its obedience.’’
1969
HERTZ Rent A Car
“The path of the traveling businessman is strewn with pretty faces.’’
Car ads of the ‘70s and onward still portrayed the happy family, but women were increasingly sexualized, frequently shown sprawled on the hoods of cars. Here, and here, and here, too.
1971
Ford Fairmont
“A girl can get almost any little luxury she wants – if she’s woman enough.’’
1973
Subaru GL Coupe
“And one more good thing, she costs so little to keep happy.’’
You’d hope that by the 21st century, a growing awareness to sexism in advertising would have made car advertisers more careful, but some have gotten backlash for ads like these:
2008
BMW
“You know you’re not the first. But do you really care?’’
2014
Crab Official FIAT 500L
A bunch of women in swimsuits leap from a frightening crab on the seat of their FIAT.
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