Undies Are Gossips!
LUX Soap's 1942 ad campaign warned of the danger of talking underwear.
Some analysis by Melissa McEuen in Making War, Making Women: Femininity and Duty on the American Home Front:
Some analysis by Melissa McEuen in Making War, Making Women: Femininity and Duty on the American Home Front:
Exerting personal control over one's own laundry could be empowering, LUX ads suggested to female audiences. Women would have to wage a tough fight against their underclothes, which seemed to take on lives of their own in [J. Walter Thompson Company's] wartime advertising. Animated lingerie starred in LUX ad copy in the early 1940s. Flying, chattering bras, slips, camisoles, and girdles claimed to harbor their owners' unpleasant secrets. In some promotions the sneaky garments threatened to release this information, while in other ads, they expressed pity for the oblivious young women who wore them. In one group of ads featuring the wily articles, a headline announced, "UNDIES ARE GOSSIPS!"…
The "Undies Are Gossips" campaign radiated a core message familiar to Americans early in the war: the power of talk. U.S. government propaganda connected conversations with death and destruction for U.S. troops: "Somebody blabbed — button your lip!" and "A Careless Word… A Needless Sinking" warned viewers to check their conversations. One resonant quip suggested "Loose Lips Might Sink Ships."
The "Undies Are Gossips" campaign radiated a core message familiar to Americans early in the war: the power of talk. U.S. government propaganda connected conversations with death and destruction for U.S. troops: "Somebody blabbed — button your lip!" and "A Careless Word… A Needless Sinking" warned viewers to check their conversations. One resonant quip suggested "Loose Lips Might Sink Ships."
Spokesman Review - Mar 1, 1942
Philadelphia Inquirer - July 19, 1942
Comments
I can see it now! In "Ratatouille" (2007), a rat mentored a young chef. In "Ted" (2012), a teddy bear gave a man relationship advice. The next big hit has to be a woman's underwear becoming her life coach, helping her to avoid social gaffes and become an elegant and sociable young lady. Humorous scenes include the bickering between her bra and her panties, and when she tries some wild yoga poses, she actually gets her knickers in a twist!
Posted by Phideaux on 04/25/20 at 09:32 PM
Snitches get stitches... in the case of those underwear, the snitches already have lots of stitches.
Posted by Yudith on 04/26/20 at 10:16 AM
“Will you all shut the hell up? I’m trying to sleep here!”
Posted by Brian on 05/01/20 at 10:15 AM
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Category: Advertising | Underwear | 1940s