"Mad Men" is famous for illuminating a bygone era, replete with three-martini lunches, glamorous clothing, and, of course, casual sexism.
The rampant sexism in "Mad Men" was typical of the 1960s, when the outlook for women in America was just beginning to change. While the "second wave" of feminism began in the '60s, mainstream America was still very much a "man's world."
That attitude carried over into advertising, which did little to advance gender roles and ran ads that implied women were idiots who cared mostly about pleasing their men.
In honor of the premiere of Mad Men's final season, we collected some of advertising's most egregious sexist ads from that era. The first episode of Mad Men's final season airs April 5th at 10 pm eastern.
1950: The ad begins, "Most husbands, nowadays, have stopped beating their wives ... "
1951: "Show her it's a man's world."
1952: This ad makes light of domestic violence.
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