Ads reflect changing social mores

"Go to the Climax Barber Shop for the best up-to-date tonsorial work!" an advertisement urged in the November 1900 issue of the University of Arizona Monthly, a precursor to the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

"After we take off your hair, we'll put on your face!" promised another barber's ad, placed nearly 100 years later by Markley Salon in the April 5, 1993 issue of the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

Quirky ads have been a part of the University of Arizona as long as publications have been present on campus, since 1900.

These student come-ons, weird as some of them might seem, are truly time capsules: Each reflects the language, culture, fashion and quirks of bygone decades.

An ad in the December 1900 issue of the University of Arizona Monthly tried to attract students simply with the words: "Oak Barber Shop, the cleanest shop in town."

Meanwhile, in the same issue, Joseph Krause, the "Practical Shoemaker," used a complex description of how he makes shoes to attract student consumers: "We take a Plaster of Paris cast of both feet, which gives us the correct form and shape. We cut a last for each foot on scientific principles. Shoes made in this way will insure you the greatest comfort."

A November 1910 ad in the Arizona Life assured students of their safety. It read "PHONE Main 2111. A wagon or messenger any minute."

Another ad placed by Albert Steinfeld & Co. in the same issue encouraged men to be fashionable. "Fellows, you owe it to yourselves to see the swell line of 'duds' we are getting in this season," the ad read in bold, large-font letters.

In the Sept. 20, 1920 issue of the Arizona Wildcat an ad urged students to "Dance to the music of a Victrola...anytime...anywhere!"

"DO NOT LEAVE SCHOOL because you have no money!" read another ad in the Jan. 10, 1921 issue of the Arizona Daily Wildcat. "Let me tell you how a life insurance policy will keep you here," continued the ad placed by A.W. Froehlke, an agent representing Tucson Steam Laundry Co.

The appeal to students was hard to recognize in a 1930's ad that read: "California Prune and Apricot Growers use UNION GASOLINE." The advertisement took up 3/4 of a page and was accompanied by a large picture of a tractor in the Feb. 13, 1931 Arizona Daily Wildcat.

Another ad in the 1930s featured a drawing of a handsome college senior surrounded by friends. The ad attributed the man's clean-cut appearance, broad shoulders and active step to exercise and consumption of Shredded Wheat cereal every morning. (Arizona Daily Wildcat, Oct. 21, 1930).

University Drug Co.'s Sept. 4, 1940 ad in the Arizona Daily Wildcat reasoned: "You wouldn't go to a bar for a chocolate soda, would you? Naturally not! Then be sure that you buy drugs only from a registered pharmacist."

The popularity of smoking during the 1950s was apparent in Wildcat ads.

"I started smoking in college. For 17 years I've enjoyed Camel's smooth mildness and good, rich flavor. You ought to try Camels!" suggested Douglas Leigh, the creator of Broadway's Giant Spectaculars, in the Sept. 17, 1954 issue of the Daily Wildcat.

A message in bold capital letters, "START SMOKING CAMELS YOURSELF!" appeared in the same ad above a picture of college students dressed in suits and formal dresses smiling with cigarettes in hand.

Drive-in theater ads appeared in the Sept. 14, 1962 Arizona Daily Wildcat, as did an ad for a "Magnavox Hi-Fidelity Phonograph with 10-year diamond needle warranty."

"You should have a wig 'cause wigs are fun, practical and in vogue. No wardrobe today is complete without one." Explained an ad in the Sept. 24, 1962 Daily Wildcat.

In the 1970s an ad described the turmoil of the time humorously: "Meat Shortage, Gas Shortage, Toilet Paper Shortage, Please Mr. President...No Sex Shortage! Never a Shortage of Fun 'N' Booze AT THE OUTBACK." (Arizona Daily Wildcat, Jan. 18, 1974.)

"Remind him you're a 'Wildcat' every night of the week in lingerie from Connie's," read an ad in bold, large font during the 1980s. A woman with teased, permed hair is pictured wearing loads of makeup and a tiny teddy. Her look illustrates perfectly the big hairstyles and dramatic makeup of the wild 1980s.

An ad in the Oct. 26, 1999 Daily Wildcat promises that "Un-desired hairs or veins" will be "gone in a flash of light!" if students undergo treatment.

The Oct. 15, 1999 Arizona Daily Wildcat Online flashes an ad that reads, "Better for you than dorm food. Easier to find than a date...Get to the good part, click now. Welcome to NetLibrary-The Next Generation Library.

Download E-books to your PC!"

Advertisements in 100 years of student publications are portals that can transport us to any time in the past century at the University of Arizona.