Women in Advertising.
Carried by the Waves.
Just as the Feminist Movement had an impact on freedoms, norms, and culture, each wave changed how women were portrayed in advertising.
Advertising Aimed at Women
Changing With Each Wave
FIRST WAVE
The First Wave of Feminism began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Organizers fought for basic legal rights for women, almost exclusively white women, including:
the right to vote
the right to own property
access to higher education
the right to file for divorce
access to education
improved employment opportunities
1898-1920(ish)
SECOND WAVE
The Second Wave of Feminism came as the US was undergoing dramatic social change – activists across the country fought for racial and gender EQUALITY. Feminist activists focused on:
Equality in the workplace
Equal pay
Reproductive rights
Financial independence
Moving beyond traditional gender roles
1960s-1970s
1990s-2005(ish)
THIRD WAVE
The 1991 Anita Hill hearings ignited a new wave of feminism. This was a more inclusive, unified movement that included women of different races, classes, and gender identities. The goals of the Third Wave were:
Carry on the work of the Second Wave
Tear down the established patriarchy
Increase female presence in government
Address sexist and racist practices
Combat sexual harassment and sexual assault
Late 2000s-Present (dates under debate)
FOURTH WAVE
With the rise of social media and renewed attacks of the very foundations of women’s rights...
Advertising during the
First Wave of Feminism
At the beginning of the First Wave of Feminism, the average American woman was looked at as looking for a husband or looking after her home – housework, husband, and children. Ads were focused on selling her ways to make your home better, housework easier, and your husband love and appreciate you more. Advertising to women slowly began to evolve with the growth of the suffragist movement as marketers found themselves selling to a (relatively) more independent woman.
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At the turn of the (last) century, advertising spoke to women as if nothing mattered to them more than their home and their husband. Later, as the suffragist movement swept the country, advertisers started embracing “The New Woman,” and adjusted their marketing message to appeal to more independent women.
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During this time, advertising was almost exclusively newspapers and magazines
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The primary products being sold were almost entirely household goods and cleaning supplies.
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
Mathilde C. Weil (1872-1942)
AMERICA’S FIRST “AD WOMAN.” When her husband died, she found work, first as a language translator, then as a magazine writer, and then as a newspaper saleswoman before realizing she could make more money by connecting advertisers with publishers. In 1880, she founded the first advertising agency in America, the M.C. Weil Agency in New York.
Helen Lansdowne Resor (1886-1964)
THE PERSON WHO COINED THE PHRASE ‘SEX SELLS.” In 1906, Helen Lansdowne Resor started writing ad copy for a small ad agency – and within ten years, she became the first female Copywriter at the country’s largest ad agency, J. Walter Thompson (JWT), and, eventually, agency VP and Creative Director. Her 1911 ad for Woodbury Soap Company, with the headline “The Skin You Love to Touch,” is thought to be the first ad to use sex appeal to sell a product. She was a staunch champion of women's rights. She encouraged other women to consider a career in advertising. Her work mentoring young women earned JWT a reputation as a place where women had a chance to succeed.
Advertising during the
Second Wave
During WWII, advertising aimed to inspire women to do their part in the war effort… but after the war, ads spoke to those recently-considered-competent women as if they were idiot children. Ads were often demeaning if not downright abusive. During the late 1960s and early 70s, as the second wave of feminism brought in a renewed fight for equal rights, the ad industry shifted to much sexier marketing… much of it sexist, more than sexy.
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We're a team of passionate thinkers and doers, dedicated to building with purpose and clarity. Collaboration and curiosity drive everything we do.
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Newspapers and magazines were still effective media, but TV was quickly becoming the most powerful medium for advertising.
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Although household products were still prevalent – especially time-saving products for “working women” – ads for beauty items, designer clothes, and “recreational” products, like cigarettes and liquor, were everywhere.
Shirley Polykoff (1908-1998)
After working at a magazine and for retail stores, Shirley Polykoff joined Foote Cohn & Belding (FCB) in the mid-1950s. She created the classic advertising headline, “Does she — or doesn’t she?” for Clairol, one of advertising’s most memorable campaigns. The campaign increased women’s use of hair coloring from 7 percent to over 50 percent, raising annual sales from $25 million to $200 million. She also penned other famous beauty slogans, like “Do blondes really have more fun?” and “If I’ve only got one life to live, let me live it as a blonde.” Many consider Polykoff the main inspiration for Mad Men’s Peggy Olson. She was an adamant defender of equal rights, but she was not what we’d consider a feminist – for much of her tenure, she wouldn’t accept a pay raise because she “considered it insulting to make more than her husband.” Reportedly, after his death in 1961, the agency doubled her salary… twice. And, by the time she left to start her own agency, she was the agency’s highest-paid employee.
Advertising during the
Third Wave
During WWII, advertising aimed to inspire women to do their part in the war effort… but after the war, ads spoke to those recently-considered-competent women as if they were idiot children. Ads were often demeaning if not downright abusive. During the late 1960s and early 70s, as the second wave of feminism brought in a renewed fight for equal rights, the ad industry shifted to much sexier marketing… much of it sexist, more than sexy.
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We're a team of passionate thinkers and doers, dedicated to building with purpose and clarity. Collaboration and curiosity drive everything we do.
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We believe in keeping things simple, smart, and human. Every project starts with listening and ends with something we're proud to share.
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