Oh Johnnie, Oh! Vintage Johnnie Walker Ad 1951
How’s your mid-century gaydar?
Fans are buzzing about the Mad Men moment when mystery man Bob Benson slyly touched his knee against sourpuss Petes, setting tongues wagging about Bob’s possible homosexuality.
Whether or not Bob’s 1968 unrefined gaydar was accurate is another question. But it’s about time someone came out of their Madison Avenue closet.
Unintentionally Gay Ads
Wilson Wear no-belt pajamas WWII ad 1944 “Stays up without pressure….or hands”
The real Mad Men of mid-century Madison Avenue produced some pretty homoerotic ads, albeit in a mid-century repressed manner.
Take these unintentionally gay ads that ran in major magazines from the 1940s through the late 1950s , featuring men frolicking in underwear in their bedrooms, cruising locker rooms, or ogling one another by the pool.
Cruising the locker room at the beach. Vintage Celanese Fabrics Ad 1946
Cruising the locker room. Vintage ad Jayson Sportswear
Boxers, bedrooms and pajamas were a natural setting for a romp among “roomates
Roomates? Vintage Ad -Wilson Wear pajamas and shorts 1944
Who doesn’t discuss travel plans in pjs with your best bud? Vintage Ad Reliance Pajamas 1943
Good natures hi jinxs in boxers. Vintage Reliance boxer shorts 1946
Oh, you Dick! Vintage ad A&P Eight O’clock Coffee 1940
Jack comes out to the gang. Vintage Ad A&P Eight O’Clock Coffee
I Was Bi-Curious
One of the most famous homo-erotic advertising campaign was put out by the beer that made Milwaukee famous Schlitz Beer with their series “I Was curious.”
Whether the theme was lake side picnic, ski lodge or a visit among friends, by the third panel in all these ads there is nary a woman to be found.
Vintage Ad Schlitz Beer 1946 I was Curious
Vintage Ad Schlitz Beer 1948 “I Was Curious”
No one was safe..even in the suburbs
Vintage Ad Schlitz Beer 1948 “I Was Curious”
I was curious …ho.. ho… ho! Vintage Ad Schlitz Beer 1949 “I was Curious”
Ski Lodges were a favorite meeting place
Vintage Ad Schlitz Beer 1949 “I was Curious”
Vintage Ad Schlitz Beer 1950 “I was Curious”
Does your gaydar go off viewing these ads?
Copyright (©) 2013 Sally Edelstein All Rights Reserved
You Might Enjoy
Locked in the American Dream Closet
The Gay Bachelor and the Bride
Liberace: In the Candelabra Lit Closet
Boy Scouts Morally Straight… and Gay
Envisioning The American Dream 
With some of them it’s even hard seeing them targeted at heterosexual men. Some look completely gay. I mean why would three men be in their underwear in a bedroom. Uhm, hello? But it’s funny looking into the ‘encrypted’ (althought some are hardly) messages of the mid-twenties.
LikeLiked by 1 person
As more brands are now targeting gay audiences there will be less “coding” as the walls of the corporate closet are falling one by one. Movies have long been filled with gay subtext. Long before his son Michael camped it up as Liberace, Kirk Douglas starred in one of the all time classic gay subtext movies-Spartacus. I suppose one could watch with a straight face as Tony Curtis as a half naked slave gives Laurence Olivier a sponge bath!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Isn’t it homophobic to think that two COMPLETELY STRAIGHT males can’t be in their underwear in the same room??? It makes sense if they’re roommates. I think it’s too bad that everyone thinks anything where two guys show even the smallest amount of friendship is gay.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Marketers have long used ambiguity as a way to tap the gay audience without alienating others. The term in adverting circles is “gay vague” -ads in mainstream media with subtle gay context that heterosexuals tend not to register and steer clear of any backlash.
Nowadays advertising and marketers are moving beyond “gay vague” to specific gay imagery even as they aim at the wider gay supportive audience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Abercrombie & Fitch made a fortune out of “gay vague” (and still does!) with Bruce Weber’s photography which in itself is a textbook copy of Leni Riefenstahl’s movies for the record.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Locked in The American Dream Closet | Envisioning The American Dream
Pingback: Liberace: In the Candelabra lit Closet | Envisioning The American Dream
Pingback: The Gay Bachelor And The Bride | Envisioning The American Dream
Pingback: The Right Is Wrong | Envisioning The American Dream
Pingback: How to Avoid the Risk of Offending | Envisioning The American Dream
Pingback: You’ve Come a Long Way Peggy Olson | Envisioning The American Dream
Pingback: Then and Now: Mad Men World of 1969 | Envisioning The American Dream
Pingback: Locked in The American Dream Closet | Envisioning The American Dream
Pingback: Miss Jimmy Olsen – Comic Cross Dresser | Envisioning The American Dream
Pingback: Is it an Offense to Offend? | Envisioning The American Dream