Vintage Christmas Ads: Sexist, Offensive And Just Plain Weird

Published December 22, 2014
Updated March 1, 2018

From chain-smoking Santa to gifting guns, these vintage Christmas ads are so offensive, sexist and bizarre that it's hard to believe they're real.

Vintage advertisements offer a unadulterated look into the traditions and worldviews that people once believed. These vintage Christmas ads paint a picture of the past that’s not so politically correct.

From constantly insinuating that women should be left working in the home to using children to sell lighters and guns, these ads wouldn’t fly today. In fact, from chain-smoking Santas to gun ads up the wazoo, these are the most offensive, sexist and bizarre Christmas advertisements we’ve ever seen:

Hoover Ads
Source: POPSUGAR

Vintage Fake Tanning Ads
Source: NRS

Ironing Board Christmas Ads
Source: Visual News

Guns for Christmas
Source: POPSUGAR

Vintage Gun Ads for Christmas

Vintage Microsheen Ads
Source: POPSUGAR

Winchester Gun Vintage Ads
Source: Daily Mail

Vintage Christmas Gun Ads
Source: The Chive

Smoking Santa
Source: imgarcade

Weird Vintage Meat Ads

Vintage Ronald Reagan Ads

Santa Smoking Cigarettes
Source: The Chive

Zippo Lighter Vintage Christmas Ads
Source: Pinterest

Lucky Cigarettes Vintage Ads
Source: Bored Panda

Weird Vintage Christmas Ads
Source: Retro-A-Rama

Vintage Camel Ads
Source: SCOPE

Vintage Aftershave Ads
Source: Hative


Next, check out some of history's most offensive sexist ads.

author
Kiri Picone
author
Kiri Picone holds a B.A. in English and creative writing from Pepperdine University and has been writing for various digital publishers for more than 10 years.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.