Advertising to Women

It is, of course, women who are the target of all this advertising. It has been estimated that, even as of the late nineteenth century, 85 percent of all manufactured consumer goods were purchased by women, and where food and kitchen product purchases are concerned, virtually all the decisions have historically been in women’s hands. This was recognized as early as the 1880s, when advertisers began to make use of techniques thought to appeal especially to women. “Avoid the cold and unfeminine,” counseled early twentieth-century advertising manuals. It was assumed that women desired “luxury and daintiness,” which led to ads with delicate drawings, pastel colors, and serif typefaces.