Images of Arabs in Advertising (incl. Muslim/Middle Eastern culture) 2 of 2

[write-light.livejournal.com]

White Rock Sparkling Water [and the Topless Fairy], 1946






Hamburg America Line Cruises, 1910



Springfield Cotton Mills, 1950s



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Comments

[superfan1.livejournal.com]

Wow the first ad is rather risque for a sparking water ad in the 40's.

[suzycat.livejournal.com]

Prince Ali needs to remember to avert his gaze. Also *facepalm*.

[ms-hissyfit.livejournal.com]

"Keep your nightshirt on, Prince"...

[mjspice.livejournal.com]

First ad is really racist & risque IMO.

The other two are ok.

(frozen)

[batgurl10.livejournal.com]

NOt now, Brother of a donkey? @@ BwahahahahaH! Nowadays they would probably start burning shit down for something like this. wow. the M.E> was soooo much better before the religious Mullahs took power, dayum.

(frozen)

[thebazu.livejournal.com]

What the hell? Who are the "they" who would "start burning shit down"? Are you for real?

(frozen)

[batgurl10.livejournal.com]

Who are the "they" who would "start burning shit down"?

Islamist s aka religious extremists! watch the news sometime or read a newspaper

Are you for real?

Last I checked, yup. =) I have a MA in International politics.

p.s. obviously you were offended by my innocent comment?? I was talking historically which you Obviously know nothing about. when these ads aired, the M.E. was ruled by more secular governments. Im not saying they were all benevolent or anything BUT they were NOT so religiously bent--think more secular tyrants. It depends of course where were talking about but in general---the religious Mullahs ((that's religious clerics for the uninformed)) had NOT taken power yet.

These ads predate the Iranian revolution --which kick-started the fundamentalism that is running rampant in the M.E. today.

I truly meant no offense by my comment even though you have chosen to take it as such. I was only comparing the seemingly more "open" society which is evident by the symbolism in the ads.
I would implore you to read a book with NO pictures in it once in a while. The ignorant are doomed to repeat their mistakes.

take care.
C.

[misstia]

Your reply was really rather rude and snarky.....especially the last two sentences.....if you continue with this attitude in this group you can go elsewhere....

[ejia-arath03.livejournal.com]

Does that fairy even have nipples?

[hutchlover.livejournal.com]

I can't believe this didn't cause an uproar amongst the Muslims. There's no way they would have anything to do with a half-nude woman... fairy or not.

[luke-russell.livejournal.com]

And exactly what beverage was the Prince using the sparkling water to mix? Hmmmm?

[hutchlover.livejournal.com]

Good point. Though it's known now that alot of the Ottoman's (pre 1918) indulged quite a bit, despite their religious restrictions.

[zorinlynx.livejournal.com]

I read the second line of the first ad and now all I can think of is...

"Prince Ali, fabulous he, ali ababwa..."

I hadn't heard that song in probably 15 years and now it's back with a vengeance!!

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

I feel scared just looking at that first ad. There's some blaspheming going on there.

I live not too far from Lancaster, which is now a dried up old mill town, naturally. I don't think it ever had a large Bedouin population, though.

"Polly Adullah" sounds like "Paula Abdul," but did Polly Adullah sound like Paula Abdul?

[emmuzka.livejournal.com]

This makes me think of those sheik / desert prince Harlequin novels that I read when I was 13. It was the time before the fear of Muslim religion, with only old-fashioned racism..

[batgurl10.livejournal.com]

Dear Misstiajournal.

I truly enjoy viewing all the cool vintage ads on this group and consider it a learning experience to get a view into our past. So, for the sake of peace, I apologize to you list mom!! Perhaps the last 2 sentences to my reply "were" unnecessarily snarky? It was seriously NOT my intent to rile anyone up. I have read worse comments posted regarding vintage food and nobody got upset, but I digress.

My comments stemmed from my interpretation of the geopolitical climate in the M.E. today. I keep up because its within my field and I was just truly surprised by how risque those ads were for its time. and then I remembered why exactly something like that was ok back then, but not today...so I was commenting on that specifically.

I should have just ignored the commentator who asked "If I was for real?" It was dumb to get into a tit for tat with that person. No further comments will be forthcoming. I come here for the historical OMG aspect of the ads and I enjoy that. I wasnt aware there was "attitude" on my part--but hopefully we both got an email from you and not just myself? I hope to continue peacefully enjoying the group?

thanks.
C.

[misstia]

THANK YOU for your prompt sincere reply!!! I understand how quickly things can happen---even snarkiness, i have been known to be snarky myself at times!

The concern is when things can turn personal, which can happen quickly, and we always wish to avoid that here....we want everyone to feel welcome but we welcome discussions, differing opinions, etc.....You obviously have insights as it's your field that could help a lot of us with ads such as these and I hope you continue to weigh in!

If you have ANY questions or concerns about anything you see in a comment thread or a post, never hesitate to ask me! my email is: misstiaemail@yahoo.com (please put v. ads in the subject line) or you may message one of my co-mods! tanwen posted above!