10 Outrageous Vintage Ads That Use Babies to Sell Cigarettes, Beer, and Guns

In the Wild West years of advertising, babies were deployed to sell a wide array of products—everything from cigarettes, to beer, to guns.

There is no denying that using cute babies in advertising works. A 2011 research experiment published in the Marketing Bulletin academic journal showed that the use of a picture of a cute infant increased the response rate by 88 percent.

In the Wild West years of advertising—when doctors were used to promote tobacco brands—infants were deployed to promote a wide array of products, many of which are considered outrageous by today’s standards.

Here are some of the most disturbing advertisements that capitalized on the infant “cute” factor to sell products.

1. It is hard to believe now, but yes there was a time when babies wrapped in cellophane was used to promote the food packing material.

Du Pont, 1950s