If you ever thought that the 1950s were depressing and awful — especially if you were a housewife — then look no further than this Jell-O commercial for all the confirmation you’ll ever need.
Never before had flavoured gelatin done so much to liberate so many.
It shows a haggard woman on a treadmill being assaulted by symbols of her daily grind. The look on her face is one of pure despair. The female narrator seems to be taunting her. The plaintive harmonica tune that’s playing is both sad and intentionally insipid. At the woman’s blackest moment, she gets covered up by a black scrawl.
The related videos that YouTube queues up at the end are some of them worth watching, too. I have my beefs with advertising these days, but it sure has come a long way since then.
Grant Hamilton
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