The 90s was a pretty weird decade, mostly because a large part of it was a hangover from the 80s.

I remember tape decks, Peter Stuyvesant ads with people smoking on yachts, technicolour coats and oversized t-shirts paired with mom jeans.

Television was also a different experience back then. Most of it here in South Africa was a screensaver with rainbow stripes that took over until prime time started.

A large chunk of the advertising spend went to magazines and newspapers, and the same is true across the pond in the US.

CNN reports that publishing house Taschen is commemorating this decade by releasing the 1990s edition of its “All American ads” book series. The book looks at the decade through advertisements for fashion, lifestyle, cars, entertainment, travel, business, electronics and beauty.

“The 1990s will probably start to hit their stride in another five or ten years, when people will begin to look back and go, ‘Oh, wasn’t that a great decade,'” said the book’s editor, Jim Heimann, in a phone interview. “But at this point, it’s still a little hard to decipher and get a sense of distinction for this particular period.

“But one thing is clear: A lot has changed in advertising since then, regarding overt sexual content — especially in fashion. It was hyperactive throughout the 1990s, and looking back at it now, you kind of wonder how they got away with all that.”

This one isn’t in the book, but I had to include it:

Still relevant.

Then there are some classics:

Smoking ads were still a thing then:

Mac has always had style:

You can’t talk about 90s advertising without talking about the mostly naked Calvin Klein ads:

No one made a name for themselves through provocative ads quite like Calvin Klein. The black and white underwear shots of his 1990s campaigns — taken by photographers like Bruce Weber and Richard Avedon, with stars like Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss — have acquired legendary status.

“Bruce Weber’s Calvin Klein ads really showed a whole different kind of approach to that particular article of clothing, compared to anything that came before,” Heimann said.

Since then, according to Heimann, sexual imagery in advertising has been toned down, not just due to changing tastes but also because of differing attitudes toward issues like body image and sexual harassment.

Here’s some fat shaming:

And this quintessential 90s man:

Advertising has come a long way since then, although some companies are still getting it wrong.

Can’t say I’m sad to see the end of Fabio up there.

[source:cnn]