All-American Ads of the 50s

by Jim Heimann

As McCarthyism swept across the United States and capitalism was king, white America enjoyed a feeling of pride and security that was reflected in advertising.

Genres: Art, History, Design, Nonfiction, Pop Culture, Reference, Photography

679 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2001

Reviews

[Steven Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book begins by noting that the 1950s were perceived as very different from the 1930s and 1940s--and advertisements reflected this. The book begins by noting: "And the future looked good. At least as seen through the eyes of television, magazines, and advertising."

The heart of this book is simple--advertisements from the 1950s. The book reproduces many of these, from automobiles (Pontiac and Ford-including an Edsel ad!-and Oldsmobile and Cadillac and Buick and. . . .) to gasoline (Mobilgas [never knew that Mobil was so called!:], Texaco [The Texas Company:]) to stamps (remember those? Here, we see Top Value stamps).

Other ads? Sheaffer's Snorkel pens, Lady Sunbeam hair dryer, GE stove, Admiral refrigerator, Lionel Trains, movies (e.g., The Seven Little Foys, Vertigo, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Arrow shirts, Jockey underwear, Sealtest Ice Cream.

A lot of fun getting a sense of the products and the advertising and marketing approaches of the 1950s.

[Travis Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Don Draper dreamland. 600+ pages of ads spanning all sorts of products through the 50s. The artistry is great, the hindsight hilarious. But at some point you’re left with the hollowness of realizing that America’s greatest art form consists of bamboozling fellow citizens to buy buy buy, and here I’m still consuming it. Dreadful.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always with these books, the ads themselves are a lot of fun (and very entertaining indeed). What is considerably less so though is the generally small-minded--and indeed at times downright irritating--textual accompaniment.

It's a real cheapshot (for example) to pick on Edsel, or the users of asbestos. Or to make fun of ancient computer claims. And how about upbraiding somebody for the need to adjust their panties in public? ("Well, I NEVer...!")

Oh yeah: and what exactly are all these sectional "winners" winners of anyway?

[Wouter Pinkhof · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sublieme collectie van de mooiste, wonderlijkste, vreemdste, grappigste, tijdschriften reclame uit het Verenigde Staten van de jaren vijftig. Dit was wat de Mad Men maakten tussen het drinken van sloten cocktails en het dromen van vrouwen op naaldhakken en rondingen op de juiste plaatsen. De wagens worden elk jaar langer, lager en vleugeliger. Atomen stralen ons de toekomst in, asbest en glasvezel dienen voor binnenhuis inrichting. En een bol ijs op je ontbijtgranen is gezond!

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good time capsule into the overall asthetic but would have liked a bit more context or explaining of the larger ad trends of the era. Maybe a few paragraphs into the trend of Aeronamic designs in automobile construction. Explaining why canned or ready made food became such a hit after the war. Why was everything pink? Still a very pleasurable reference and the high res scans are stunningly detailed.

[Gebanuzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anuncios de los años 50s, de cigarros, alcohol, coches, Beauty, vacaciones, cohetes, y un par de cosas innecesarias pero como siempre, vendibles. Me encanta poder tener acceso a esta publicidad de los 50s, además de que tenga un apartado de los casos más absurdos de publicidad.

[Daniel]

tweet

[Anne-Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this journey into the 50s. My favorite chapters were the Consumer Products, Industry & Interior ones. I didn't read all the words but I went through each of the pages. 💙

[Kevin Braswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taschen could literally print a book called "Yesterday's Trash" with full color photos of your garbage and I'd still want to see it.

[Leonard Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best of this incredible collection of ad images, due to the fact that the '50s was a boomtime for both consumerism and advertising. Beautiful and hilarious.

[Alfonso Heredia]

woww

[Themistocles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, like the whole series...

[Presley Acuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to see how American Design Sense and the sense of humor and irony in advertising evolved through the 20th century.