In case you didn't know this, men aren't the only ones allowed to buy cars anymore. Women do it too now, sometimes all on their own! But carmakers used to look at women in a very different way, as we can see from this Volvo ad that's straight out of the "First Couple Seasons Of Mad Men" playbook.
In it, we see some poor schlub trying to convince his wife to let him buy a Volvo Amazon. She doesn't seem all that onboard, so he lets her drive. This being an ad from the mid-1960s, she can't. Not even with an automatic transmission later on.
But the ad does instruct Harry to tell Mildred (that's what I'm calling them, anyway) that the Volvo has other virtues, like durability that would allow them to one day afford new furniture, a swimming pool, or fur coats. Women love stuff like that, am I right, guys?
Of course, this wouldn't fly all that well in 2013, where women influence 80 percent of all car-buying decisions and are considered a lucrative demographic by nearly all car companies. That's definitely a change for the better.
One last thing: isn't it kind of funny to find sexism in an ad for a car that's named after a tribe of legendary warrior women? Just sayin'.