All-American Ads of the 80s (Sourcebook)

by Steven Heller (Introduction), Jim Heimann (Editor)

A pictorial tour of advertisements from the nineteen eighties provides a colorful look at the decade.

Genres: Art, Pop Culture, Coffee Table Books, Nonfiction, History, Design, American

639 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2005

About the author

Steven Heller writes a monthly column on graphic design books for The New York Times Book Review and is co-chair of MFA Design at the School of Visual Arts. He has written more than 100 books on graphic design, illustration and political art, including Paul Rand, Merz to Emigre and Beyond: Avant Garde Magazine Design of the Twentieth Century, Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design Second Edition, Handwritten: Expressive Lettering in the Digital Age, Graphic Design History, Citizen Designer, Seymour Chwast: The Left Handed Designer, The Push Pin Graphic: Twenty Five Years of Design and Illustration, Stylepedia: A Guide to Graphic Design Mannerisms, Quirks, and Conceits, The Anatomy of Design: Uncovering the Influences and Inspirations in Modern Graphic Design. He edits VOICE: The AIGA Online Journal of Graphic Design, and writes for Baseline, Design Observer, Eye, Grafik, I.D., Metropolis, Print, and Step. Steven is the recipient of the Art Directors Club Special Educators Award, the AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement, and the School of Visual Arts' Masters Series Award.

Reviews

[Violeta]

Looking at ads of decades past feels like time travel. The Taschen books of All- American Ads from the 50s to the 90s are displaying thousands of print ads for cars, travel, food, liquor, cigarettes, movies, appliances, furniture, technology and most anything that defines 20th century consumer history. A history that, although not as important as History itself, nevertheless speaks volumes about the way people lived and behaved back in the day.

Granted, the ads represent a jazzed-up image of the past, since products must be linked with some kind of elation in order to sell. But they are fun to look at and they’re enlightening, as much in what they choose to show as in what they deliberately omit. They speak of their times in a way that isn’t interested in right or wrong, only in capturing the zeitgeist of the moment. They are therefore more straightforward than any post-dated analysis tainted by a contemporary point of view. The conclusions are left to their viewers.

Not that you pore over the colorful pages of these books; you simply let the tone of the ads wash over and carry you back in time. Every now and then you can’t help lingering on one or another and marvel/laugh/cringe at the imaginativeness/stylishness/quaintness of the image or text. And that’s what advertising, past and present, is all about.

The Eighties – Advertising the Reagan Years

“Advertising as a whole is a fantastic fraud, presenting an image of America taken seriously by no one, least of all by the advertising men who create it,” wrote sociologist David Riesman. His statement is not entirely accurate, however; after all, consumers are complicit in fraud every time they submit to the idea that the pursuit of happiness can be advanced through the purchase of nationally advertised brands. For advertising to succeed there must be a symbiotic relationship between producer and consumer, in which each has something to gain. Therefore, when taken as the raw material of social and cultural history, the advertisements collected in this volume must be skeptically viewed as evidence of a mutually advantageous scam that, according to social critic Ernest van den Haag, aims “to unify taste, to de-individualize it, and thus to make mass production possible.”

Do the following images ring a bell?? 😊


Black Velvet Whisky, 1981


Absolute Vodka, 1986


Camel Lights Cigarettes, 1985


Lou Reed for Honda Scooters, 1985


Apple Macintosh, 1984


Swatch Watch, 1985


Lifestyles Condoms, 1985


Barbie, 1986


Sony Walkman, 1981


Polaroid Cameras, 1981


MTV, 1982


Calvin Klein Jeans, 1980


Calvin Klein Underwear, 1983


Nike, 1988


California Dates, 1988


Virgin Atlantic Airways, 1986

Back to the 70s / On to the 90s (under construction)

[Maryse Dubé]

A must for all 80's culture fan!

[Mehsi]

SO awesome!! Some of these ads though *hides* They didn't age well, at all. And I am so glad that we have much more diversity in ads now. It was a lot of fun to go through these ads. From movies to new cars to drinks and food, music, computers, energy (oh no to the gas one), and more. Photographs, art, illustrations. Loved all the different styles. I shared a few with my hubby, because again, some of these. XD

[7jane]

Very interesting collection of ads. I myself missed most of them, since I left US before the 80s (1979) and didn't return until early 90s (1992, almost a year before the first WTC attack). Some are familiar, perhaps seen in some American magazines I leafed through (Time, at least).
Some explaining texts and introduction are in many languages (English/German/French/Spanish/Japanese). At the end is Index of brands and products. It's pretty easy to see what various levels of success the ads had (and what works for a good ad: too many words certainly don't). The last of cigarette ads are here. Some especially bad ones are highlighted separatedly.

I made a list of reactions, and I'll just put shortly what they tell:
Yes, the Camel ads were so wrong. The colors were quite wild. Nice to see familiar products, music, people.
*lol* at lite beers.
I remember a certain poster of a certain ad from cooking school wall. I've heard some things about RumpleMinze XD... Marlboro Man!
Ugh, the sexism.
So many metal-box cars (but also some cool ones). The boxy computer monitors, floppy discs, the printers.
Of course, some examples of army ads, and the remaining traces of Vietnam lingering....
*lol* Jazzercise! Hey, Marimekko sheets appearing!
The kids' toys have soooo much plastic!
That Maxell ad! Garfield phone! First cellphones. Ah, the CK ads, and Benetton.
Who makes those shoes and clothes (and in what conditions)?
Seriously some unappetizing foods ads, no doubt some are less pretty IRL.
Milk sponsoring ads. RICE PIZZA.
Pan Am.

What a way to see how things were, what was current, what looks dated, what could still look new right now, style-wise at least. Some things that no longer exist, or whose reputation has changed, or who have evolved more. One might miss some things from back then, but still be glad to view them from now!

[Travis Wise]

Or: How Birth Decade Nostalgia is a Balm for Myriad Regrets. Like realizing you just sunk hours into Consumerism’s propaganda machine for entertainment. Beware that, when sneering at yuppies, you yourself do not become a yuppy; and when you gaze into the 80s, the 80s gazes into you.

[Kallie]

such a cool peek into the past! it’s a perfect coffee table book for pop culture/graphic design lovers. also getting to read about the cultural significance and political climate that charged some of these ads was super neat to read about. definitely gonna have to collect every decade now!

[Xiangfei Wo]

Some of the pictures are not beautiful, but the total one is meaningful

[Krystsina Radzevich]

All 'ads' collection is informative and useful for your inspiration.

[Themistocles]

Fantastic, like the whole series...