How Feminism Transformed Advertising

It is impossible to deny the vast differences between ads in the 1950s and those of today, especially with respect to women. An industry once plagued with ads portraying the stereotypical domestic woman has evolved into one that evokes imagery of the strong, independent, intelligent woman. Arguably, the development of feminism from the 1920s through present day has been a major factor in these changes, because it helped to incite the evolvement of the advertising industry. Feminist activism resulted not only in this positive progress in the attitude of the advertisers, but also in the development of a more gender-equalized society that forced advertisers to pay heed to the feminist message. Since feminism occurred as a societal condition (an event or circumstance surrounding an era), it was able to affect societal values in the above manner. In other words, feminist activism, by changing the ideologies of our society, in turn, changed the ads of our society. 

In 1956, when Ford released the Customline with an automatic transmission, “the sexist ads of the day heralded this innovation as a wonderful thing for the ‘little woman’ and had headlines like, ‘Just think – no more stalling!’” (Ford Motor Company) Present-day ads however, have a noticeably different focus. Present-day television commercials for Kotex feminine care products feature various situations portraying independent women surviving in the world during their periods. They suggest a woman should be able to remain independent, sexy, etc. without worry of “leaks.” The slogan reads, “Kotex fits. Period,” suggesting it fits all aspects of a woman’s life, which is now so multifaceted and quick-paced. This is in vast contrast to a domestically-geared 1950 Modess sanitary napkins ad which begins, “Those questions on a mother’s mind…” and goes on to explain how to tell one’s daughter about menstruation.