Advertising the 80s

A while ago I mentioned that I bought some Swedish Reader's Digest magazines from 1980 at the big second-hand book fair. So I've been reading these lately, and the most awesomest thing in them ever has got to be the advertising.

Even the car ads are cool. Do you remember when cars used to be all square and chunky?


We had one of these when I was a kid:


And I want this one. Or maybe I just want the boy in the funky singlet with the bowl haircut.


Which leads me on to people. Did you know that people looked different in 1980?

For this one, we can blame her moisturizer. It makes her keep touching herself.


These ones have no excuse.


And this family has intestinal parasites, so they are excused. (They do! Read the small print!)


This woman is very lucky, because she has a big muscley cartoon man to help her clean the kitchen. But that doesn't explain why her waistband is up round her armpits.



And then there's the sad state of random technology.

Given modern hindsight, this ad is so unfortunate that I have to translate it for you.


["When the Sony Betamax SL-C7 was introduced a few months ago, all other TV-recorders suddenly found themselves to be old-fashioned. Sony's new Betamax quickly became THE TV-recorder that all others came to be measured against. It is simply a yardstick that shows how far the development of video for home use has come."]

The television below is extra funny because of the wording underneath: "Behind this beautiful facade hide the world's best components."


But this one has both colour TV and a data-screen! How can you compare with that?


This radio alarm clock is so cool it gets three exclamation marks!!! And it's only 495 kr, which, according to various websites, is the equivalent of about USD $180 in today's money.


And finally, how could you forget the good old microwave? It's a new, quick way to cook, but with "feeling" and "imagination". I see a lot of feeling and imagination on that plate of meat and three veg.


But it gets better! Microwaving can also be "one of many expressions of the new consciousness". Did you know about this new consciousness? It's also a fact that the quick cooking and the "special way it happens" means the ingredients keep more nutritional value than they do when you cook them traditionally.

So please excuse me. I'm off to indulge my new consciousness in that special way it happens. Meanwhile, please treat your intestinal parasites. I recommend Vanquin.