Delia and I both grew up in the seventies and eighties. We grew up seeing the same commercials … the same depictions of women. And now we’re both still wired to respond to these seeds that were planted waaaaay back when the white bread deliveries of what women could be looked like these ads.
Here are just a couple of highlights that shaped some of our fetishes and femme aesthetics:
ENJOLI
This Enjoli perfume commercial Delia and I grew up with made quite an impression on us:
The 1970s. A sexy commodification of feminism with power-bitch models telling us they love make-up, money and BACON. In smart suits and with a sense of urgency, smirking knowingly with crafty intent. They’ve got plans A, B and C all lined up, and have to bend over to tell us about them since they tower so high above us.
These women confronted the camera with CONFIDENCE, and the vision of one of them slapping her hand with a fat stack of cash PROGRAMMED Delia and I. This was before we had any exposure to the femme hustler archetype in more diverse forms, especially midday on TV between Merv Griffin and soaps like All My Children. A loooooong time before we had any clue what cultural appropriation was.
Tonight while Delia balanced cooking dinner with defrosting, repairing and cleaning our janky refrigerator, she sang this song to me. ;)~ Ohhhhh … those hips swinging back and forth at eye level!
LEGGS
Man … do you have any idea how BAD I wanted these eggs full of filmy stretchy grown-up nylon?
So many crossed wires between Easter candy and pantyhose, I’m telling you. I could never understand why my mom never got the eggs, only the flimsy cardboard-boxed pantyhose. The reason was money (and that the cheapest hose was just fine if you were picking between one supermarket brand and another) , but I soooooooooooooooo wanted my mom to spring for the egg.
Delia and I shoot a lot of content with stockings and garter belts, but pantyhose are rooted deeper down and dirtier as a turn-on; as a camgirl, it always made sense that I got more requests to put on pantyhose than I ever did stockings.
I just asked Delia how often she saw her mom wear pantyhose, and she said PRETTY OFTEN since she worked as a secretary for a time. Then I asked her if her mom ever bought the LEGGS, and she said YES! “We used to play with them! Because they were COOL! Like dinosaur eggs but futuristic at the same time.” I am SO JEALOUS!!
Did you ever look up to your moms with that golden-sheened white oval spot between her legs with just tan-TIGHT-tan encasing her from the waist down?
CHARLIE
The Charlie ads made a much bigger impression on Delia than on me. She sings the Charlie girl jingle every so often. When she does, her face lights up with a sweet grin and charming look of fresh innocent nostalgia (pretty much exactly like the Charlie ad girl here, but even prettier).
The only thing that rings a bell when I revisit these ads is … the handwriting. I love the “Charlie” signature and smooth flourish.
Delia thinks the delightful androgyny of the Charlie girl is what appealed to her. And wow, check out how much more enthusiastic she is about spraying the dykey cab driver with her scent than kissing the dude she’s lunching with:
That’s not something I remember seeing at all as a kid … maybe they didn’t air this one on the west coast.
We’ve got some more memories of early femme favorites (ahem “if you dare wear short shorts…”) I want to revisit with you, but in the meantime … what are some of your early impressions from TV ads that still excite you today?