This document contains summaries of advertisements from the 1950s and earlier that promoted household appliances. The ads portrayed women as responsible for housework, cooking, and childcare. They suggested women were dependent on men financially and emotionally. The ads promoted appliances as helping women be more efficient and freeing up time for their traditional domestic roles by making tasks like cooking and cleaning easier. They also portrayed women enjoying new appliances and finding ways to please their husbands, such as by crying to get new appliances. Overall the ads shaped perceptions of women's identities being centered around the home and family.
2. “We Grow „Em Big in America”
•GE advertisement for the new
2-in-1 refrigerator and freezer
•Title not only refers to
appliances, but also the
nuclear family present in the
advertisement
•The husband is idly standing
by while the wife is putting the
groceries away in the new
fridge
•Note the four children and the
dog in the kitchen- the wife
has to look after the kids and
tend to the dog while the
husband stands with the
drinks in his hand
•Also, the four kids being
present in the advertisement
suggests that the wife was
available for her husband in a
sexual manner.
3. Dormeyer Applainces
•Holiday advertisement for Dormeyer
appliances
•Asks the woman to select which
appliance she wants and if her
husband does not get the appliance
immediately, to cry for the appliance.
•Asking women to cry for an
appliance suggests two things:
•Women are not capable of
buying their own appliance and
must rely on their husband to
buy the appliances that will
make their lives easier
•Women can employ tools of
emotion in order to get their way
because women are allowed to
cry and men do not want to deal
with their feelings
4. GE „Push-Button Cooking‟ (1950)
•The advertisement is for
GE‟s innovative stove that
allowed for quicker
preparation of food
•Notice the sparkling clean
kitchen
•General Electric ran a
campaign for its ovens on
the basis of „speed-
cooking‟ which allowed for
easier and quicker food
prep and clean up. This
would give women more
time to do other things
around the house as not to
spend their whole day in
the kitchen
5. Kenwood Chef (1950)
•Advertisement for Kenwood‟s
electric mixer
•“The Chef does everything
but cook- that‟s what wives
are for!”
•Shows the happy couple with
their new appliance and the
wife wearing the chef hat
•The tag under above the
Kenwood Chef logo says “I‟m
giving my wife a Kenwood
Chef‟ suggesting that the wife
is unable to get her own
Kenwood Chef
•Giving his wife the mixer may
also suggest that the mixer will
make his wife happy therefore
he would not have to tend to
her emotional needs
6. Kenmore Stove (1971)
•Sears Kenmore Advertisement for
their new self cleaning oven
•Oven makes cleaning easier for
women as they would no longer
need to break „14 fingernails
cleaning an oven‟
•Also shows that the woman is
telling her husband why she wants
one, demonstrating the woman‟s
financial dependence on her
husband
•The caption at the bottom reads
„It‟s designed for you, but built for
your husband.‟ The dialogue
between the husband and wife in
the advertisement shows the
woman talking about the cleaning
aspect of the stove whereas the
husband is says that the „stove‟s
really put together right.‟
7. „Wonder Kitchen‟
•Advertisement for GE wonder
kitchen for Levittowns
•Suburban culture shown in
the advertisement; levittowns
consisted of identical houses
and features. GE used
levittowns as a sort of
showroom for their innovations
made in appliances
•The woman featured at the
bottom of the advertisement is
shown enjoying the features of
her GE appliances in her new
home
•Also features the colored
appliances that GE introduced
in 1954 to reach out to the
female population so they
would be able to give their
kitchen „flair‟ and „feng shui‟
8. Alcoa HyTop Closure (1953)
•Advertisement for Alcoa‟s
new easy to open ketchup
bottle
•“You mean a woman can
open it?” Suggests that men
were responsible for being
the muscle of the
house, even if it was for
opening a bottle of ketchup.
The woman in the
advertisement seems
shocked by the idea of being
able to open her own bottle
of ketchup
•Also brings up the idea that
new innovations in the food
industry are accommodating
to the needs of its
consumers, being that
women are the ones that will
be primarily responsible for
using this product
9. Mornidine
•Advertisement for Mornidine-
a prescription for morning
sickness
•“Now she can cook breakfast
again.” Suggesting that her
morning sickness was an
inconvenience to the
household
•Perpetuates the idea that
women belong in the kitchen
•Also suggests that women
were expected to do their
household chores under any
circumstances; the woman in
the advertisement is pregnant,
but she is still expected to get
up every morning and prepare
a meal for her husband/family
10. “Choose GE!”
•Advertisement for GE‟s new
electric range
•Begins with “A Startling Statement
to Women!” because cooking and
cleaning the kitchen were long,
tedious chores and with the new
GE stove, they could accomplish
everything „jiffy quick‟
•Displays women in the kitchen,
even a young girl helping with the
cooking
•The only testimonials provided in
the advertisements are those of
women, suggesting that women are
the only ones that are going to
make use of the appliance
•Ad promotes beauty not only in
price, but also in product as it
appeals to women
11. “Easy to Stay Young”
•GE electric
advertisement for their
new innovations in
home appliances
•Introduces the cultural
expectations for the
housewife to „stay
young‟
•Woman in the
advertisement shows
how happy the wife is to
have her new GE
appliances because
they make daily chores
easier to manage
