Above image of a Tapeworm by GP Online
It’s possible to travel back in time.
Visit a museum and you can see how people lived hundreds or even thousands of years ago.
You’ll see displays of the implements they used and the decorative things that gave them pleasure.
Paintings also present visual opportunities to see into the past.
The clothing (and life expectancy) in those images may differ from today, but the facial expressions still resonate with us now.
Books, novels, plays, and old movies offer more windows into past lives and attitudes.
I have a collection of fitness magazines covering the 1980s to the early 2000s.
It’s fun to look back and read about past fads and to look at old advertisements.
Those baggy gym trousers and leg warmers look a little strange now, and it seemed everyone was into rollerblading.
Nike was still a young, growing company. Blockbuster Video stores ruled, as there was no streaming and Amazon and Google didn't exist.
Going back further, I have a collection of US advertisements from the 1950s and earlier. I stress these ads appeared before I was born!
If published today, they would be guaranteed to offend or raise protests.
Here are five of the least troubling examples
- Health: Doctors telling you it was healthy to smoke and which was their favourite brand of cigarettes
- Marriage: Men being pitched with the message that wives would love their husbands even more if they bought them a certain range of household appliances for Christmas
- Still with Christmas present suggestions: What about buying a Winchester rifle for your child? Just don’t give them the ammo on Christmas morning
- Tooth Care: Cocaine Tooth Drops: These were pitched as an instantaneous cure - I wonder why?
- The prize for Most Sexist Messaging: Tapeworms as a means for ladies to eat whatever they like and stay thin. But why just for ladies?
Showing that the UK could compete in this style, you can’t beat this press ad for succinct copy and a powerful message.
“Let’s face it - you could get hit by a BUS tomorrow.
go on - HAVE A FAG!"
A shining example of British stoicism at its best.
Looking back can be fun and shocking, much like looking at our hairstyles and fashions of the day in old pictures.
What’s also shocking is how quickly time passes.
So it’s better to spend more time looking forward and making the most of the present.
Doing so shapes a better future.
With that thought in mind,
The Time Management newsletter can help you be a highly effective user of time at work and beyond.
If you buy it now, I will also send you a free copy of the New Manager Issue (usually £14.95).
That could be useful to you or a colleague.
You can see what’s covered in the Time Management Issue on this page.
Very best,
David O'Beirne