"Men are rarely interested in an advertisement which they think is meant for women." "Usually men will look at ads in which a man (and/or dog) is prominent." "But if the man is shown in a domestic setting with a woman and domestic accessories, man-noting falls off." These are only a few of the observations presented by Mark Wiseman, "Advertising Consultant and Director of Mark Wiseman's Advertising Courses" in an article from the March 1952 issue of Art Director and Studio News. At first reading, I found this 50-year old article sort of amusing... even kind of hilarious at times: "In a woman's ad, for example," writes Wiseman, "don't use pictures of combat or adventure; don't use diagrams unless they are very simple and easy to understand." Yikes! Please remember ladies, Mark Wiseman wrote that - not me. But on greater reflection, it occurred to me that there was a lot of accuracy in much of Wiseman's advice - certainly for the times - and maybe even for today. This week, let's take a look at how advertisers targeted their audience back in the 1950's... and if you are able, step out of yourself and look objectively at the ads above ...and ask yourself if things have really changed.