Gross-Out Food Ads

The LiveJournal Vintage Ads group is holding a competition to dig out the grossest food advertisements of yesteryear.

http://community.livejournal.com/vintage_ads

I don't know about gross, but it certainly shows the cultural difference of a generation ago. Having your Camels at the dinner table? My parents smoked but never at the table and I never smoked so I can't imagine how that "enhances" your dining pleasure!

A few years ago, my friend hosted a "Mrs. Beeton" potluck where people were supposed to bring dishes from the Mrs. Beeton cookbook (supposedly the world's first cookbook) or another vintage cookbook. Those pictures really remind me of that party. There were a lot of jello dishes and a lot of casseroles. I made cucumbers au gratin from a 1950s cookbook that I found in the University of Wisconsin-Madison library. If there is anything that should NOT be done to cucumbers, it's baking them in a custard. Ugh. I couldn't even eat it because it smelled so disgusting to me, but it did win the "Acquired Taste Award" so people actually liked it. We all felt a little sick when dinner was over.

My favorite was the "company casserole" based on concept alone. It was supposed to be something that a housewife could whip up if her husband called at the last minute and said that the boss was coming to their place for dinner. It involved velveeta, green olives, and pimentos. Guaranteed promotion!

Reminds me of this site. The captions on the photos crack me up every time I revisit.

James Lileks has had one of the most extensive websites about "regrettable food" for over a decade.
http://lileks.com/institute/gallery/index.html