Lois vs. Virginia Slims
The late 1960’s Virginia Slims’ “you’ve come a long way, baby” campaign jumped on the "women’s lib" movement as if it was another fad that they could use to sell their cigarettes. Pushing the agenda that on top of being a full time mother, wife, and maid, a woman that can also partake in a career truly “does have it all.” How patronizing could the advertiser be by suggesting that along with staying thin, women can also enjoy a carcinogen just like their male counterparts? This was somehow supposed to appease women’s struggle for equality.
This was contrary to Lois’ earlier 1960’s Coldene ad, which highlighted the misogynist gender roles prevalent in the day. The simple statement pokes at the notion that a woman’s role is to be the childcarer and the man’s role is to be the authoritarian. Said in such a clever way that it is hard to turn a blind eye on the inherent chauvinism but yet discreetly underlines the problematic assumption of narrow-minded gender roles.
Similarly, Lois’ 1980-90’s No Nonsense “woman of the year” campaign was seen as an honest homage to women’s accomplishments in various fields. It spotlighted successful women in various educational, political, and entertainment industries. Selling a confining garment meant to hide a woman’s natural appearance, Lois decided to take away the focus from the obvious and instead directed the attention away from the product itself to its support for a cause. Today we may question the need for a congratulatory medal for simply being a woman, but at the time positioning women differently than the typical depiction was a refreshing development. This was years ahead of Nike’s 1995 “if you let me play” campaign which presented the inception of their own feminism advocacy.