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Vintage Toronto Ads: Do 1010 Ads Use Stereotypes? We Need to Talk

By Jamie Bradburn

20090127cfrb.jpg
Sources: Toronto ’59 (left) and CFL Illustrated, July 4, 1978 (right)

The provocative stunt-based advertising campaign currently employed by CFRB has been one of Torontoist’s favourite targets for ridicule. This prompted us to dig deep and see if “Ontario’s Family Station” had any promotional skeletons in the closet, as most old CFRB ads we have encountered tend to be warm and friendly.
You be the judge as to whether this pair of ads, one designed to tout the station’s potential reach during the city’s 125th anniversary, the other meant to draw in Argos fans, retain the quaint, humorous charm the ad designers intended or demonstrate how attitudes towards First Nations people and leering football players have changed since they were published.
Look for representatives of either of these groups holding signs for the station on a street corner near you.

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Comments

  • http://null PickleToes

    I understand that you would complain about stereotyping Natives, but honestly, are you taking issue with what you views as the unfair characterization of football players?

  • http://undefined spacejack

    It’s true. Football players no longer leer, and native people stopped listening to the radio.

  • http://null lunarworks

    I wonder how many people will recognise that as a transistor radio that she’s holding to her ear.

  • http://null EricSmith

    It took me some consideration to figure it out, but mostly because I didn’t realize it was an ad for a radio station at first glance. “Why’s she got that walkie-talkie?”
    I, in turn, wonder how many people will realize that she’s supposed to be a cheerleader, given that she’s in long sleeves. That’s almost dressed.
    (At least the big-nosed cartoon “injuns” are somewhat disclaimed by the headline, “It wasn’t quite that way.”)