Santa Claus, his reindeer and a tree surrounded by gifts are some of the Christmas season’s most iconic images—and, as advertisers have long known, they’re also some of the best ways to get shoppers in a spending mood. So it’s no surprise that December issues of TIME tend to be full of seasonal advertisements featuring those Christmas symbols.
Now, decades after they were first published, these ads have taken on the rosy glow of classic Americana. And they also offer a window into how businesses of the 1950s pictured an idealized holiday season: jolly, prosperous and white in more ways than one. Among the images are a Norman Rockwell-painted Plymouth ad, a classic Coke-drinking Santa, a sexist Santa hocking detergent and even a festive two-page spread touting cans.
An ad that appeared in the Aug. 20, 1945, issue of TIME. Plastics from the chemical company Monsanto are sold to G.I.s for the "decade after Victory, [when] your 'Castles in the Air' will become Homes in America."TIME / MonsantoAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 20, 1945, issue of TIME. As a group of G.i.s returns to find that those on the home front have done their part, Caterpillar Tractor Co. encourages civilians to keep buying War Bonds with "no slacking off until the evil thing that threatens our homes has been wholly vanquished."TIME / Caterpillar TractorAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 20, 1945, issue of TIME. The Douglas DC-6 plane is touted as "First home...in war or peace."TIME / DouglasAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 20, 1945, issue of TIME. Wartime research that went into the General Motors Aeroprop propeller will benefit civilian aviation too, this ad explains.TIME / General MotorsAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. The postwar return to full production at factories will be an opportunity for businesses, and "foresighted wiring in postwar plans" will keep those factories efficient.TIME / Anaconda Wire & CableAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. Civilians are encouraged to rely on air transportation even as military aviation winds down. TIME / The Airlines of the United StatesAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. A G.I. returning to his office job is celebrated by grateful colleagues...who thank him by putting his desk near the soda machine.TIME / PepsiAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. "As soon as war conditions permit," Kodak promises, full-color film will be once again available for civilian use.TIME / KodakAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. A two-page spread from Buick reminds readers that returning G.I.s deserve cars that are "nice to come home to" even as the war work continues. TIME / BuickAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. Once radio are fully available at peacetime production levels, this ad warns, demand will be very high—so better to order in advance.TIME / Emerson RadioAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. The record-keeping needs of war were addressed by Diebold office equipment, this page reminds readers, and the problems of the reconversion period can be thus solved too.TIME / DieboldAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 3, 1945, issue of TIME. Hire a veteran, says this public-service announcement paid for by BF Goodrich, to improve your business' morale and discipline.TIME / The B.F. Goodrich CompanyAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 3, 1945, issue of TIME. If Army and Navy hospitals—as well as "airmen whose faces are susceptible to frostbite"—use Remington Electric Shavers, why wouldn't those men keep using the same shavers after the war? And if it takes a little while for civilian production levels to increase, the ad notes, the wait will be worthwhile.TIME / Remington Electric ShaversAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 3, 1945, issue of TIME. Exide Batteries honors the Navy and Merchant Marine, while reminding readers that the ships on which those men served contained many battery-powered tools for which dependability was crucial.TIME / Exide BatteriesAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 10, 1945, issue of TIME. The medical ultraviolet glass lamps made by Corning that are shown in this ad aren't actually weapons, but the company uses a wartime analogy to compare them to an "ack-ack gun" that could be used against disease.TIME / CorningAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 10, 1945, issue of TIME. What does a sewing machine and a radio program of 1890s standards have to do with the war? This ad for a Tobe Filterizer that prevents household electronic equipment (like the sewing machine) from causing radio static is touted as a way that "your post war home can have both."TIME / TobeAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 17, 1945, issue of TIME. Though this chocolate advertisement doesn't call out the war specifically, the man giving a woman his hat and a Whitman's Sampler has clearly recently returned from the service.TIME / Whitman'sAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 17, 1945, issue of TIME. "If it hadn't been for the war and shortages," this ad declares, "lots of families might never have learned how many different kinds of those good Campbell's Soups there are!"TIME / Campbell'sAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 17, 1945, issue of TIME. This tribute to veterans plays on a little boy asking his father for an explanation of the lapel pin given to honorably discharged veterans—and promises that "as [servicemembers] go on to final victory they have first call on Camels."TIME / CamelA Caterpillar ad from the Dec. 18, 1958, issue of TIMECaterpillar / TIMEA Columbia Records ad from the Dec. 10, 1951, issue of TIMEColumbia Records / TIMEA Manhattan ties ad from the Dec. 10, 1951, issue of TIMEManhattan / TIMEA Plymouth ad from the Dec. 24, 1951, issue of TIMEPlymouth / TIMEA Coca-Cola ad from the Dec. 24, 1951, issue of TIMECoca-Cola / TIMEAn All ad from the Dec. 8, 1952, issue of TIMEAll / TIMEAn American Airlines ad from the Dec. 7, 1953, issue of TIMEAmerican Airlines / TIMEA Miller ad from the Dec. 14, 1953, issue of TIMEMiller / TIMEA Diamond Chemicals ad from the Dec. 6, 1954, issue of TIMEDiamond Chemicals / TIMEA Cadillac ad from the Dec. 5, 1955, issue of TIMECadillac / TIMEA Kodak ad from the Dec. 3, 1956, issue of TIMEKodak / TIMEA Hormel ad from the Dec. 3, 1956, issue of TIMEHormelA Continental Can Company ad from the Dec. 3, 1956, issue of TIMEContinental / TIMEA Bell Telephone ad from the Dec. 10, 1956, issue of TIMEBell Telephone / TIMEA Remington razor ad from the Dec. 10, 1956, issue of TIMERemington / TIMEAn IBM ad from the Dec. 23, 1957, issue of TIMEIBM / TIMEA Champion Papers ad from the Dec. 21, 1959, issue of TIMEChampion Papers / TIMEAn in-house ad for TIME Magazine from the Dec. 14, 1953, issueTIME
