Originally Posted By: spasm3
Interesting advertisement about what to do in case you are too skinny! You would never need to run that ad today!
Actually, I have seen a similar ad on TV within the last couple of years with nearly the same terminology. Some kind of bulk up pill to gain weight. Some people just have super active metabolisms and I guess not much of an appetite. I think a heavy dose of Logan's Roadhouse should fix anybody, but I guess some would rather do it with a pill. I'd rather eat excessively.
The ads are incredibly interesting. In some ways, things haven't changed, but in others they have changed drastically.
The "learn a trade at home, on your time!" stuff is EXACTLY what's peddled on TV today. Practically nothing different in the basic message..."learn to work on cool [censored] and make money!" Probably just as much of a pipe dream for many too.
It's a lot more DIY stuff than you would read about anywhere today though. People just buy everything now. In pre-war depression America, it seems there was a much greater emphasis on reusing things and DIYing things. Note all the ads with "make a motor out of a Ford or Chrysler generator!"
It's really fascinating to look at. Some stuff is no different from today, like "learn at home on your time!." Other stuff is totally foreign. [censored] is Prussian Blue, and why would you dispense it in your workshop? I had to look it up, and it's some kind of pigment, apparently used at one time as a marking compound. Now, any kind of marking compound would be an unusual find in a residential garage/workshop/basement.
The tobacco ads are the strangest thing. Describing it as an energy booster, and providing "vim," whatever that is. I guess if it makes you feel good right now, it couldn't possibly be bad for you!