The first thing I noticed about this 1960s Pond’s Cold Cream ad is its portrayal of a young, white woman with flawless skin and a confident smile. The headline reads, “She’s Engaged! He Proposed the Night She Used Pond’s,” directly connecting a woman’s attractiveness and romantic success to her use of the product. This emotional and fear-based appeal taps into societal expectations of the time, where marriage and domestic success were often viewed as a woman’s highest achievement (Visual Communication Guy, 2023). The text further reinforces gender norms by emphasizing that a “proper skincare routine” is part of a woman’s duty to remain desirable.

This form of advertising leans heavily on puffery and emotional manipulation. According to Jaleen Grove (2010) in A Cultural History of Advertising, ads like these used romantic fantasy to position products as essential tools for fulfilling feminine ideals. The ideological message is clear: beauty equals worth, and that beauty must conform to a narrow standard. These values reflected a post world war two society where women were being pushed back into traditional roles after briefly entering the workforce. Advertising played a critical role in reinforcing those roles.

Still, beneath the surface, the same message remains: women must invest in their appearance. The packaging has changed, but the underlying value system of beauty equals social currency persists. Even the “real skin” tagline implies there’s a right kind of “real” skin, usually clear, glowing, and unblemished. The ad continues to idealize youth and femininity in a more subtle, progressive tone.

Comparing both ads, we see that modern advertising still uses emotional and aspirational appeals, but cloaked in self love and empowerment rather than romantic dependence. As outlined in How the Advertising Industry is Changing (2021), brands today must balance consumer cynicism with authenticity, often using influencers or lifestyle storytelling to do so.