{"id":1813,"date":"2024-12-10T15:44:52","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T15:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/?p=1813"},"modified":"2024-12-10T15:44:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T15:44:52","slug":"12-classic-ads-from-the-1980s-that-would-cause-outrage-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/2024\/12\/10\/12-classic-ads-from-the-1980s-that-would-cause-outrage-today\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Classic Ads from the 1980s That Would Cause Outrage Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Body Shaming as Motivation<\/h3>\n

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The \u201cPinch an Inch\u201d campaign from Special K urged women to pinch their waists to determine if they needed to lose weight. While the message was intended to promote healthy eating, the overt focus on physical perfection would be seen as harmful and tone-deaf in today\u2019s body-positive era.<\/p>\n

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2. Sexism in Full Swing<\/h3>\n

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Take the infamous Nissan Hardbody Trucks ad campaign, where women were shown fawning over rugged, masculine trucks with taglines implying that a man without one wasn\u2019t much of a man. Ads like these reinforced strict gender roles, portraying women as accessories to men\u2019s achievements\u2014a concept that wouldn\u2019t fly in today\u2019s more inclusive landscape.<\/p>\n

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3. Stereotyping for Laughs<\/h3>\n

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Consider Wendy\u2019s iconic \u201cRussian Fashion Show\u201d commercial, which portrayed Soviet women as drab, humorless, and unfashionable. The ad got laughs in the \u201980s but would now be criticized for relying on reductive cultural stereotypes to make its point.<\/p>\n

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4. Kids and Dangerous Behavior<\/h3>\n

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The Big Wheel ads glorified kids zipping around on plastic trikes at high speeds, often in reckless ways. Safety standards have changed drastically, and any ad promoting such carefree (and potentially dangerous) play would be a liability nightmare today.<\/p>\n

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5. The Objectification of Women<\/h3>\n

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One particularly infamous ad was the Diet Coke commercial showing a group of women ogling a shirtless male construction worker. While it flipped the script on traditional gender roles, the ad still treated the worker as a mere object of desire\u2014something both genders critique more heavily now.<\/p>\n

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6. Smoking Ads Aimed at Teens<\/h3>\n

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Camel\u2019s Joe Camel ads didn\u2019t start in the \u201980s but gained traction during that decade. Featuring a cartoon camel in sunglasses, the campaign was accused of targeting kids and glamorizing smoking. Any ad like this would now be outright banned.<\/p>\n

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7. Tone-Deaf Cultural Appropriation<\/h3>\n

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The Crispy Critters cereal ad featured a jingle with lyrics that mimicked exaggerated tribal chants. Ads like this treated non-Western cultures as punchlines rather than respecting their heritage, a practice that today would provoke outrage.<\/p>\n

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8. Exploiting Gender Expectations in Toys<\/h3>\n

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The My Buddy doll commercial proudly presented the toy as a companion for boys who didn\u2019t want \u201cgirly\u201d dolls. While beloved in its time, the ad reinforced outdated notions that boys and girls couldn\u2019t enjoy the same toys\u2014a notion at odds with today\u2019s push for inclusivity in childhood play.<\/p>\n

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9. Dated Beauty Standards<\/h3>\n

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The L\u2019Oreal Preference Hair Color ads featured lines like \u201cBecause I\u2019m Worth It,\u201d paired with an almost exclusively white cast of glamorous models. While the phrase remains iconic, the ads\u2019 narrow portrayal of beauty would be heavily criticized today for lacking diversity.<\/p>\n

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10. Aggressive Diet Messaging<\/h3>\n

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Slim Fast\u2019s \u201cA Shake for Breakfast, a Shake for Lunch, and a Sensible Dinner\u201d was a slogan that dominated the \u201980s. While it promoted weight loss, the messaging ignored mental health and a balanced relationship with food\u2014issues more prominently discussed in today\u2019s health-conscious world.<\/p>\n

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11. Dangerously Lax Attitudes Toward Alcohol<\/h3>\n

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Coors Light ran ads with slogans like \u201cBeer. It\u2019s Not Just for Breakfast Anymore,\u201d which, while tongue-in-cheek, suggested casual day drinking. Such messaging would be seen as promoting irresponsible consumption today, likely earning a PR nightmare for the brand.<\/p>\n

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12. Questionable Parenting Norms<\/h3>\n

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Oreo\u2019s \u201cMoms Have It Hard\u201d campaign showed harried mothers bribing their kids with cookies to get a moment\u2019s peace. While relatable, the ad could be seen today as dismissive of parental stress and loaded with outdated gender roles about caregiving.<\/p>\n

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1. Body Shaming as Motivation The \u201cPinch an Inch\u201d campaign from Special K urged women to pinch their waists to determine if they needed to lose weight. While the message was intended to promote healthy eating, the overt focus on physical perfection would be seen as harmful and tone-deaf in today\u2019s body-positive era.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1813"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1813"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1826,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1813\/revisions\/1826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyrumour.co.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}