1970s ads are where the decade’s design loosens its collar. The psychedelic energy of the late ’60s still curls through the page, but it now shares space with glossy lifestyle photography, hard-edged corporate modernism and a whole new appetite for the gimmick. Layouts get loud. Mail-order coupons, cut-out paper dolls, costume-party cartoons and sci-fi staging all show up, sometimes in the same magazine. Brands stop explaining the product and start selling the mood around it.
This post looks closely at 45 consumer ads from the 1970s, with a focus on advertising design and graphic basics like layout, typography, illustration, spacing and print craft. Think of it as practical 1970s advertising inspiration: vintage ads that show how design learned to sell attitude, lifestyle and a wink, with the product riding shotgun.
A decade that sold the attitude first
As the ’70s roll on, two instincts pull the page in opposite directions and somehow both win. On one side, slick studio photography and tidy feature lists turn cars, stereos and food processors into rational, grown-up purchases. On the other, hand-lettering, cartoon caricature and head-shop poster art keep the counterculture flame burning right next to the coupons. Sci-fi futurism sells whiskey, disco sells cologne, and a man with a paper bag on his head sells a turntable. The through-line is self-awareness. These ads know they are ads, and most of them are happy to let you in on the gag.
Airstream Trailers, 1979
A silver trailer curves down a winding road through a flat illustrated Alpine village, the copy running at a slant that follows the route. Hand-lettered “Win the ultimate fly/Drive vacation” stretches across the foreground in tall condensed caps. The green ground keeps everything light and storybook. The layout turns a sweepstakes into a travel fantasy you read by tracing the curve down the page.
Audi, 1973
A gold sedan parks in tall grass under open sky, with a long comparison argument set in two tidy columns below. The headline runs three lines of heavy serif across the dark lower half. Type and image split the page cleanly, photo up top and reasoning underneath. The little flag detail on the antenna nods to the international pitch. A workmanlike layout built to be read, not just admired.
Bally Professional Arcade, 1977
A floating TV screen sits up top, a long column of white copy runs down the center, and the wood-grain console glows at the base with controllers trailing off like spider legs. The reversed headline shouts across the dark field. Heavy product photography and dense feature copy sell the machine as a home computer first and a game system second. A busy, proud layout that wants you to read every spec.
Blue Jeans Cologne, 1978
A roller-disco dip caught mid-motion, white satin against a mirror-ball haze and red spotlights. Script handwriting curls across the smoke in the lower third. The photography leans soft and grainy, all movement and glow. Product shots sit small in the corner so the dance stays center. Pure disco atmosphere, selling a scent through one frozen Saturday night.
Centrex, 1979
A man with a paper bag over his head spreads his arms above a silver stereo, the joke (a comic who hides his face) carried straight into the headline. Three columns of conversational copy frame the gag. The staging stays deadpan while the product sits photographed in sharp detail below. Humor leads, specs follow, and the whole thing rides on one absurd visual.
Chef Boy-ar-dee, 1973
Overhead food photography of a “German Pizza” topped with sausage and sauerkraut, ringed by raw ingredients on a dark ground. The title runs in heavy white caps up top. Recipe copy fills the base in three columns. Rich, saturated food styling sells the idea of remixing a pantry staple into something new. A practical layout dressed up with a slightly wild topping concept.
Chevrolet Monza Spyder, 1976
A white coupe shot from above against a streaking red blur, a spider graphic stretched across its hood. “Along came a Spyder” sits in clean white sans below the image. Giant “MONZA” lettering anchors the base. Motion and a single visual pun carry it. The dark lower half lets the headline and the pull-quote breathe, framing the car as attitude on wheels.
Christian Dior, 1973
Four hands cup a row of nail-gloss bottles, fingertips painted in mismatched colors, a small planet floating above. A deep blue ground gives it a dreamlike, weightless feel. The Dior logo sits quietly at the base. Color is the whole pitch, each nail a different shade laid out like a swatch chart. Elegant and a little surreal, selling a palette through staged hands.
Chromcraft, 1974
“FORGET WHAT MAMA LIKED” arcs across the top in mauve rounded caps, over a smoked-glass and chrome dinette set on a white shag rug. A mail-in coupon fills the base. The interior photography leans cool and architectural, all reflective surfaces. The headline picks a friendly fight with tradition while the copy stays calm and grown-up. A confident furniture pitch played with a bit of swagger.
Coleman, 1978
“BUY IT NOW!” in tall white caps sits over a winter driveway scene, a family loading a fold-down camper in the snow. A smaller cozy interior shot anchors the copy block. The layout sandwiches photography between two heavy headlines, the second reading “The earlier you buy, the more you save.” Pure seasonal urgency, staged warm against the cold.
Converse & Wigwam, 1974
A cropped shot of legs in tube socks and red suede sneakers fills most of the frame, with a tidy copy column on the right. Smaller shoe-and-sock pairings line the lower corner. The photography is close and tactile, all texture and team color. A simple co-branded pitch that lets the striped socks and star sneakers carry the whole composition.
Coppertone, 1972
A tanned figure on yellow sand, the familiar puppy-and-toddler vignette tucked at the left edge. “Beautiful tan today. Young looking skin tomorrow.” caps the page in heavy serif. The product lineup sits in the upper corner. Warm monochrome yellow floods everything, selling summer through one saturated color. Glossy illustration meets a famous mascot in a layout built on heat.
Dexter, 1971
A swirl of patterned fabric fans out from a cartoon figure up top, men’s shoes arranged in a fanned arc across the lower half. “Join the Dexter movement” runs in the upper corner. Flat illustration and psychedelic color carry the whole thing, landing somewhere between a Yellow Submarine still and a shoe catalog. Playful, busy and very much of its moment.
DiMarzio, 1979
Three small live shots up top spell “Loud and Clear” in green serif across black panels, a wide concert photo filling the lower half. The stage gear and lighting do the atmospheric work. Contact details sit small in the corner. High-contrast performance photography sells the pickups through pure rock spectacle, the type kept simple so the images get to roar.
Donna Summer, 1978
A close, glowing portrait mid-song, eyes shut, mic in hand, hair catching the light. Ornate script spells the title in an arc up top. The black ground lets the warm spotlight carry everything. Production credits sit small and quiet. A record ad that trusts one intimate live photograph and a curl of decorative lettering to sell the moment.
Fender, 1975
A hyper-detailed Alice in Wonderland scene, a caterpillar playing twin guitars over a mushroom while Alice reclines below. Hand-drawn columns of fairy-tale copy run along the base. The illustration is dense and painterly, equal parts storybook and head-shop poster. Fender’s logo sits quietly in the corner. A bravura piece of fantasy art selling guitars through pure imagination.
Ford Bronco, 1978
A red-and-white Bronco kicks up dust on a mountain trail, a strip of feature photos and a numbered eleven-point list packed across the top. “THE ’78 FORD BRONCO.” sits in heavy black caps. The layout reads like a spec sheet wrapped around an action shot. Dense, proud and built to out-argue every other four-wheeler on the page.
Ford Fairmont Futura, 1978
A silver coupe parks on rocky ground under a pink dusk sky, a chrome spacecraft hovering above it. “Ford introduces FUTURA” caps the page in white serif. Three columns of copy fill the dark base. The sci-fi staging promises tomorrow while the price and mileage figures keep things grounded in today. Futurism and a sticker price sharing one frame.
Ford Thunderbird, 1970
A white coupe on an airport tarmac, a Pan Am 747 looming behind it. “FOR 1970: A NEW FLIGHT OF BIRDS” sits in clean caps low on the page. The jet-age staging links car to aircraft through sheer scale. Copy runs tight beneath the headline. A luxury pitch that borrows the glamour of the new wide-body era to sell a coupe.
Fruit of the Loom, 1978
Legs in pantyhose tangle into a spiral with oversized fruit at the center, product names floating around the edges. “Assorted Fruit Pantyhose from 99¢” cuts across the middle in heavy type. A white ground keeps the surreal arrangement clean. The brand’s fruit mascot becomes the literal centerpiece. Odd, eye-catching and built entirely around one strange visual gag.
Galaxy, 1972
A couple in a domed observation lounge gazes at a spiral galaxy, glasses in hand, a bottle and tumbler glowing in the foreground. “The age of Galaxy is here.” sits in white serif on the right. Painted sci-fi atmosphere sells light whiskey as something futuristic. The deep blue space scene does the heavy lifting, copy kept to a quiet column.
Gatorade, 1978
Two glum kids sit propped up sick in a brass bed, a teddy bear between them, sports-print wallpaper and bottles crowding the nightstands. “When the doctor says drink plenty of fluids” caps the page in heavy white. “Mother them with Gatorade.” sits on the blue blanket above a product trio. Warm, staged photography pitches a sports drink as cold-and-flu care. A homey layout built around two convincingly miserable faces.
General Electric Food Processor, 1977
A smoked-plastic processor sits dead center on black, two columns of feature copy flanking the headline. “ALL FOOD PROCESSORS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL.” runs in white caps up top. The product floats in dramatic studio light, lid and blades visible. Straight, confident appliance photography, the kind that lets one clean object and a feature list do the talking.
Grateful Dead, 1975
A robed skeleton fiddler sits in a stone archway, the famous Blues for Allah cover framed white against a green-to-brown gradient. Heavy serif copy fills the top, praising the record. The illustration is rich and painterly, all texture and shadow. The layout treats the album art like a hung painting, giving a great cover the room it deserves.
Growers Choice, 1978
A wild underground-comix layout, marijuana fertilizer sold through sunburst panels, mail-order T-shirts and dense hand-lettered copy crammed edge to edge. Saturated zine-style printing and heavy outlines pack every inch. The design leans on dated, loaded caricature that reads rough today. As pure craft it is a riot of color and lettering, a relic of the head-shop mail-order era worth studying for its print energy alone.
Harley-Davidson, 1973
A rider in a striped helmet leans into a dirt-road turn, the bike caught in a motion blur. “Turn it on. Off the road.” runs in heavy black caps up top. The red, white and blue script tagline anchors the base. Action photography and patriotic lettering sell freedom over features. A clean, fast layout built around one blurred, leaning frame.
Heublein, 1979
Four tiki-embossed bottles line up against blue sky, tropical cocktails and cut fruit piled at their base. “What paradise tastes like.” caps the page in soft script. Saturated product photography crowds the lower half with color. The layout sells premixed cocktails through sheer abundance, every bottle a different fantasy. Glossy, busy and dripping with tropical staging.
Hungry Jack, 1975
A grinning figure reaches for a stack of biscuits, “BIG TASTIN’ BISCUITS” filling the top in heavy red outline caps. The product cans and logo sit in the upper right. Warm food photography and a friendly portrait keep it homey. The layout splits between the headline shout and the cozy table scene. Plain, hearty and sold with a smile.
Kahlúa, 1979
A coffee mug steams in fresh snow beside a clay figure and a bottle, a jagged peak rising behind. “Kahlúa & Coffee. Oooh.” sits in playful black script at the base. The painted winter scene mixes warm and cold, steam against snow. The staging sells a cozy drink through temperature alone. Quirky, illustrative and built around one inviting mug.
Kodak, 1973
A movie-poster pastiche, “THE TALKIES” spelled in giant red dimensional letters, a man with a camera towering over a crowd of clowns, bands and kids. “KODAK PRESENTS SOUND MOVIES YOU MAKE YOURSELF.” runs in outline caps. The collage piles on joyful chaos. Hollywood premiere staging sells home sound film as your own production. Loud, busy and grinning.
KSAN, 1975
A Robert Otis Holter poster in full Art Nouveau mode, a young girl in a yellow dress perched on a curling banner above a hand-drawn San Francisco skyline. The “KSAN FM 95” lettering arcs through the ribbon up top. Dense line-work, soft dotted shading and a blue-and-yellow palette treat radio promotion as fine-art poster craft. Pure Bay Area counterculture printing.
Kraft, 1973
A molded strawberry-gelatin “Waldorf Crown Salad” glistens center frame, a Miracle Whip jar and marshmallow bag staged behind on black. “It takes two to top the Waldorf.” sits in serif below. Dark, glossy food photography gives the jiggling mold an almost regal glow. Recipe copy fills the white base. A very of-its-era dish, photographed like a crown jewel.
Las Vegas, 1973
A cut-out paper-doll layout, a man and woman in swimwear surrounded by snippable skis, golf bags and sunglasses, “If You Like To Cut Up!” in outlined caps up top. Small destination photos line the middle. The bubbly purple-and-pink “Las Vegas” logo anchors the base. The interactive gimmick turns a tourism ad into a toy. Playful, flat and unmistakably ’70s.
Liquid Space, 1974
A swirling Art Nouveau surf poster, a long-haired figure and a rider cresting a wave inside coils of flowing line-work. “LIQUID SPACE” runs in chrome bubble letters across the lower half. Press quotes and a mail-order coupon fill the base. The illustration drips with curling detail. A film-and-soundtrack pitch sold entirely through psychedelic poster art.
McDonald's, 1973
An overhead shot of a day camp piling out of a red van to eat on the grass, kids and counselor mid-laugh. “Get Down with Something Good at McDonald’s” runs across the lower third in heavy white caps. Warm, candid photography fills the frame edge to edge. The copy leans into the slang of the moment. A lively, crowded scene built on real-feeling joy.
Olmeca, 1977
A colossal Olmec stone head sits beside a silver bottle, a stepped pyramid and orange dusk behind. “OLMECA. THE HEAD TEQUILA.” caps the page in white display type. A script tagline runs along the base. Saturated sunset color and heavy stone texture sell heritage and mood. The pun stays gentle, the staging stays dramatic. Atmosphere doing the work of persuasion.
Party Tyme, 1971
A Mort Drucker cartoon crowd packs the upper half, a costume party of caricatures mid-revelry, the come-as-you-are gag running straight into the headline. Product shots and copy fill the base. The illustration is loose, funny and crammed with detail, pure Mad-magazine energy. The layout sells cocktail mixes through sheer party chaos. Busy, sketchy and grinning ear to ear.
Purina Cat Chow, 1974
A cat sits proud beside a Country Blend box, the whole scene set against rolling farmland with the box image bleeding into the hills. Heavy “INTRODUCING” caps fill the top, a coupon tucked into the lower right. The double-exposure staging blends product and pastoral. Warm photography and a clean type stack keep it friendly. A homey pitch with a country glow.
Sanka, 1972
Cartoon coffee jars box it out in a ring, the Sanka jar standing tall while rivals slump on the ropes. “We’ll take on any coffee in the house.” caps the page in heavy white. Airbrushed character illustration carries the gag. Copy frames the challenge in punchy short lines. A playful, anthropomorphic layout that turns a taste claim into a prizefight.
Sears, 1971
“MOD SHOD” blares across the top in psychedelic outline letters, jeans boots arranged in a fanned stack over yellow and black. A ribbon banner curls through the middle reading “THE JEANS BOOT MAKES THE JEAN SCENE.” A store list runs along the base. Loud color and groovy lettering dress up a department-store shoe ad. Counterculture styling on a retail budget.
Smirnoff Vodka, 1975
A tight portrait fills the frame, a smiling woman holding a frosted glass toward the camera, the Smirnoff crest label centered dead front. “Do you know anything better?” sits in clean white sans at the base. The background drops to gray so the red top and the glass carry all the color. Simple, direct product photography that lets one warm face and a single glass do the selling.
Solarcaine, 1974
A sunburned woman sits inside a giant red frying pan on the beach, the visual pun reading instantly. “Overdone by the sun?” sits in red serif below. The product lineup fills the white base. The staged photography sells the joke before the copy even arrives. Clean, simple and built around one literal sight gag about getting cooked.
Tareyton, 1973
A tight portrait of a man with a blackened eye, cigarette in mouth, the famous “would rather fight than switch!” line set in slanted caps across the frame. The pack sits in the lower corner. The close crop and deadpan staging carry the gag. A single confident photograph and a catchphrase do all the selling, the layout kept stark and direct.
The T-Shirtery, 1976
Four women in band tees and flared jeans pose by a river, the catalog logo spelled across the base. The photography is candid and sun-washed, all denim and casual stance. The printed shirts carry the message instead of any headline. A simple lifestyle shot that sells custom printing by just showing it worn. Easy, warm and rooted in the everyday.
Winston, 1972
“THE GREAT WINSTON PUT-ON” explodes across the top in dimensional purple-and-red letters, a cartoon couple modeling logo-printed flare pants below. A mail-in coupon fills the center, the pack standing tall on the right. The illustration is loose and groovy, the offer turning ad space into a catalog page. Pure premium-giveaway gimmickry dressed in full ’70s lettering.
More inspiration for your next project!
We hope you enjoyed this selection of 1970s ads. Digging through these vintage ads was a blast, since the decade keeps swinging between glossy corporate gloss and loose, gimmick-loving fun. If you’re into advertising design, this era is packed with graphic design lessons you can still use today, from hand-lettering and collage to feature-list copy, photography and attitude.
If you’re looking for more retro inspiration, here are a few more articles from our blog:
