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Hair & Beauty Adverts from the 1970s

The 1970s saw the continuing rise of feminism and advertisers always like to jump onboard social trends. Therefore, some advertisers began to depict the “serious but sassy working woman” in their marketing, even if they were not wholly representative of women at work.

One such advert was by Revlon for their “Charlie” perfume, which featured a woman in a trouser suit confidently striding out. Quite where she was going didn’t matter – she was depicting a strong, modern woman.

However, 1970s adverts could also be pretty sexist. Women were depicted as homemakers and wives or as sex objects to be enjoyed. Basically, you looked and smelled good for his pleasure, not yours!

More makeup products catering to women of colour appeared on the market, including new brands like Fashion Fair who debuted their range in 1973. More women of colour started to be seen in advertisements for mainstream brands, like Avon. It was the start of more diversity, though it was still far from an equal playing field.

1970s Print Adverts

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2 thoughts on “Hair & Beauty Adverts from the 1970s”

  1. Hey Guys, I am working on a English Drama and would love to know what adverts are made and publicised in England, This would be amazing if you could help. I am looking at anything from 1961 – 1979.

    Thank you,

    James

    1. Hi James, We guess that adverts by the British makeup brands were made in UK for the English/UK market e.g Boots 17, Yardley, Mary Quant, Rimmel, Biba – popular brands in the UK during that time. Many feature British models. (American brands include CoverGirl, Max Factor, Elizabeth Arden and Revlon and, though adverts appeared in UK magazines for the UK market.) That’s about all we know!

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