The Tiparillo advertising campaign of the late 1960s reminds me of a series of sleazy ads done for Microsheen shoe polish a decade before, a campaign that begs the question "what do showing boobies have to do with shoe polish?" Absolutely nothing, son, but now that we have your attention, don't forget our brand name or product.
These Tiparillo ads very well may have been conceived by the same advertising team, filed under the classic "sex sells, so who cares about product relevance?" category. At least Tiparillo tried to offset the sexist tinge by placing the models in their ads as accomplished women, in professions that went beyond the usual 1960s secretary role: marine biologist, librarian, lab technician and violinst. The problem is all of them are dressed very inappropriately for their jobs and some are not dressed at all, at least from the waist up! It's also highly doubtful that any men actually made it to the copy at the bottom of each ad. Take a look...
Double your pleasure, double your fun!
It looks like this biologist has her own built-in flotation devices to keep her afloat. "You don't want a cigarette? OK, well how about I motorboat you instead?"
She blinded me with science, and failed me in lung cancer.
If dental hygienists really forgot to wear bras, many men would go to the dentist a LOT more regularly. And most hygienists would be offended by the cigarette gesture, because smoking and dental health go together like...well, eating a candy bar after you brush your teeth.
So much for the shy librarian type hiding behind her glasses with the hair pulled high atop her head. This one lets it all hang out, so to speak.
Save a horse, ride a man who offers you a Tiparillo. And while she's covered up, it's pretty obvious she is not wearing a bra. I don't even want to think about the bounce factor involved while riding a horse like Lady Godiva did...
Insert joke here about getting your instrument played.
A commercial that aired earlier in the era was much more tame (and is very classy 1960s):
No surprise, all of these featured print ads ran in Playboy. But Mad magazine had the last laugh with Tiparillo's campaign...
