Thanks to reader Steve Kingshott, now in Sarasota, for emailing us “You’ll never see these again”, a collection of ads from the USA that arguably haven’t aged well.

Memorable was the reassuring submission from the tobacco industry that advised “MORE DOCTORS SMOKE CAMELS THAN ANY OTHER CIGARETTE!” closely followed by one that urged smokers “Let’s face it – you could get hit by a BUS tomorrow.  Go on – HAVE A FAG!”  Rather less philosophical, and one for the ladies to ponder was one showing a chap puffing the smoke from his Tipalet brand cigar at an attractive and clearly excited by it young woman and straplined “Blow in her face and she’ll follow you anywhere” (Did anyone actually try this?)

Other marketers punted their take on where married women fitted into the grand scheme of things. Kitchen appliance manufacturer Kenwood, promoting their Chef food processor, claimed “The Chef does everything but cook – that’s what wives are for!”, a brand of vacuum cleaner proclaimed “Christmas morning she’ll be happier with a Hoover” and Kellogg’s, promoting its PEP vitamin pills, had a husband hugging and admiring his pinny-clad and presumably pepped up wife and saying “SO THE HARDER A WIFE WORKS, THE CUTER SHE LOOKS!”

Attempts to influence eating and drinking habits also spawned a good crop of questionable ads. The Lard Information Council depicted a smiling family group on a beach, who were “HAPPY because they eat LARD” and, aimed at women for whom lard-eating had the opposite effect, a caring medical firm offered them the chance to “EAT! EAT! EAT! & always stay thin” by ingesting their tasty sanitized tapeworms. Women with children were advised to use cocaine toothache drops on them, and those suckling them to always have a case of Blatz Milwaukee Beer in the house, for the health benefit of both, a benefit also claimed by The Soda Pop Board of America in their mother and baby ad for cola – “For a better start in life start COLA earlier!”

Happy days……….