women Archives - The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Jun222016 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

The Secret of McDonald’s’ Success? Not Hiring Women

History

I know it's kind of a cheap tactic to hold someone accountable for views they held decades ago, when society was very different, but I did a double-take when I read a quote from McDonald's patriarch Ray Kroc. Kroc, in an Associated Press interview published in several papers on September 15, 1959, cited several factors as to why McDonald's was such a runaway success. There were economic considerations such as a simplified menu and no in-store dining, but Kroc also seemed to focus on the type of image the chain should portray and the type of people they wanted working and dining. In Kroc's own words: "We don't allow juke boxes, cigarette machines or phone booths -- and we don't hire female help," he said. "In picking a site we count the churches and schools in the area, rather ...

Jan122015 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

UNC Men’s Basketball 1972-73: “How You Doin’?”

Ephemera

I don't handle college basketball ephemera on the Press Room (yet), but I couldn't not share this anyway. It's the media guide for the North Carolina Tar Heels' 1972-73 men's basketball season, and it is quite fetching for a few reasons. Here we see a quite fetching UNC co-ed being eyed, sort of creepily I might add, by a trio of UNC players including George Karl on the right. And hoo-boy are those some great pants he's wearing. But it's not his legs we're interested in, right? Ah, college life. As it turns out, putting pretty college women on the front of media guides and programs was not an uncommon practice, and I'm not even including cheerleaders in that category. But that's another topic for another post...

Jun52013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Vintage Photo Wednesday, Vol. 33: Papier-mâché Cow in Australia, 1944

Vintage Photo Wednesday

I have no reason for sharing this photo, other than the fact that it's so random and so odd that it must be seen. It comes to us via the Australian War Memorial's collection, and shows a rather unique scene from the Australian home front. This odd photo was shot on February 29, 1944 by the Herald Newspaper in Melbourne, Victoria. Here is the description, which makes no note of the priceless expression on the face of the woman walking by the car: A papier-mache cow, used for milking demonstrations at the Werribee experimental farm, being tied on to the luggage carrier of Mrs. Mellor's car for transport to the farm. Mrs. Mellor is a Field Officer in charge of the Women's Land Army Mont Park training depot.

Feb252013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Springmaid Fabrics, You So Naughty!

Retrotisements

Using sex to sell merchandise is hardly a new tactic, but in the 1940s it wasn't a common one either. And yet in the 1940s and '50s Springs Cotton Mills, makers of Springmaid Fabrics, put out a series of ads that likely pushed every boundary there was in American marketing with regards to sex appeal. The Springmaid ads, clearly influenced by pin-up art, made use of double entendre (written by company owners Elliot White Springs) and liberal doses of voyeurism. The illustrations generally fell into one of two categories, with some exceptions: looking up a woman's skirt or seeing her panties fall down around her ankles. That's about it. Most of the advertisements came with a short tagline such as "Defy Diaphoresis," "Protect Yourself," or "Perfume and Parabolics." My personal favorite is...

Oct172012 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Please Welcome the Newest Addition to Mitt Romney’s Legal Team

Funny Stuff

I don't often do political humor here, but I've been dying for an opportunity to work this guy into a joke for a long time. I've been watching these odd Binder & Binder ads and wondering if Charles Binder really wears those stupid hats around the office, or if he just busts them out for commercials. Anyway, binders full of women, lulz.

Oct152012 by Chris Holmes1 Comment

Four Classic Bettie Page Album Covers — Two Old, Two New

Album Cover of the Week, Music

If my Tumblr feed is any indication, Bettie Page is one of the most loved and photographed women in history. And so it's only natural that she'd show up on album covers as well. Here's a cheesecake-filled selection. This is a shot from the famous 1954 "Jungle Bettie" session with photographer Bunny Yeager. Never one for subtlety, David Lee Roth's 1998 solo album pretty much summed up what he thought was best about America. This also appears to be from the same Yeager photo session as the first cover. Here's another lovely 1957 gem from Halo Records. I'm not enough of a Pageophile to know the lineage of this boudoir shot. This same photo of Bettie in her black lingerie was used for a 1955 release of Bizet's Carmen by the London Concert Orchestra, but with most of the li...

Dec42007 by Chris Holmes5 Comments

Jennifer Love Hewitt – Social Crusader

Rants

Jennifer Love Hewitt, truly one of the great thespians of our time, took issue recently with a series of photos taken of her on a Hawaii beach. The photos were unflattering by some accounts (I'm not posting them here, but if you really want to see them they aren't hard to find), and since they were released Jennifer has been the subject of some pretty nasty comments. In response, she posted the following on her website (no I don't have it bookmarked. It's already my home page.): This is the last time I will address this subject. I've sat by in silence for a long time now about the way women's bodies are constantly scrutinized. To set the record straight, I'm not upset for me, but for all of the girls out there that are struggling with their body image. A size 2 is not fat! Nor will ...

Jul132007 by Chris HolmesNo Comments

Retrotisements — Marlboro Cigarettes

Retrotisements

Yeah, I know that most of the old ads I post have to do with cigarettes. For some reason I have always been fascinated by cigarette advertising. I guess part of it is that these types of ads might have been some of the first to market a lifestyle as much as a product. I mean sure, they all talked about the "flavor" and even the reduced tar levels — ignoring the point that they had any tar at all — but what it really boiled down to was that these companies had to find a way to make a smoke inhalation device seem appealing. Watching them find ways to rise to the challenge has always interested me. Oreos pretty much sell themselves after all. Same with beer and cars. But flammable paper tubes that allow you to suck on hot smoke? Now that takes marketing acumen. Marlboro is of course synony...