A Look at Ads for Women through History

Advertising to women is not anything new. For decades, there have been advertisements targeting women to buy products. However, they weren’t always in the best interest for women. I like to think of it as, the earlier you go in time, the less friendly they were towards our gender. So let’s take  a look through history and how ads for women evolved.  

1890s: A New Age for Women 

While it might have been the era of Susan B. Anthony, men still seemed to be the only ones to have their place in the world. This ad shows how a woman should be cleaning a house for when her husband comes home. If I was a woman at this time, I would take this ad seriously as it would spark anxiety in me to always follow my husband’s orders. 

1920s: The Right to Vote  

This ad was made during the time of the 19th amendment, the women’s right to vote. The advertisement discusses that even in this time period, women were afraid to go out of the house for themselves. This specific ad seemed to have been in a magazine or newspaper and probably got many women’s attention.  

1940s: Rosie The Riveter  

I partially love this famous ad because of the context behind it. During the Second World War, companies were trying to get women involved by telling them they had a part to play in fighting as well. To me, though we have come a long way, it still stands the test of time because the message still rings true: we need women in our world, and these women are not afraid to stand up for themselves and work hard! 

1960s: The Beginning of a New Revolution  

Big things were happening in this era. Our minds were changing on the way we think about people of color, freedom of spirit, and voting. Along with this came the sexual revolution. Ads were starting to target women through discussing diets. I will always find the 60s (and 70s) interesting, exciting, and important for these reasons. 

1980s: Women in The Workplace  

Just like the 60s, and similar to the 40s, the idea of the woman was evolving. Now enter the working woman. Yes, that’s right, men, women have busy lives and work hard for their money just like you! 

2000s: All Shapes and Sizes  

This is another iconic advertisement, at least in my opinion. It was the beginning of loving your body and not being afraid of showing it too. Even today, we still see these types of ads from Dove reminding us we should all love ourselves no matter our size. 

Today: Doing It Like a Girl 

Similar to the Dove soap ad from the last picture, brands are still reminding us and inspiring us to be ourselves and be women! I love this one because it shows real people and not how we “should” look like ads of the past. They also inspire us to do WHATEVER as ourselves! 

We have come a long way since that first advertisement  during the turn of the century. I can’t wait to see how advertisements for women have changed in the next ten or twenty  years and how they continue to inspire us!