Watching this 1981 Jane Russell Playtex commercial, one thing really jumped out at me when I compared it with the bra commercials we see today.
Jane is talking directly to what she calls “full-figured gals,” but she never actually appears in the bra. She stays completely dressed while explaining the support, fit and comfort of the new Playtex 18 Hour Lovely Look.
And there was a reason for that.
At the time, network television still had very strict standards about showing women in underwear. In fact, it wasn’t until 1987 that Playtex helped break a long-standing television taboo by airing commercials showing live women actually wearing bras.
Compare that with today. We routinely see women of all sizes — including larger and plus-size women — actually modeling bras and lingerie on television and in advertising. The whole idea of what can be shown, and who gets shown, has changed dramatically.
In a way, Jane Russell’s campaign feels like a step between those two worlds.
She was almost 60 years old here, talking directly to women who weren’t built like the typical young, thin lingerie model. That alone made the campaign unusual. And Jane certainly had some history with bras — Howard Hughes famously designed one for her while making The Outlaw, although Jane later admitted she hated it and secretly wore her own instead.
Then decades later, she became one of television’s most recognizable bra spokeswomen.
So watching this today isn’t just about remembering Jane Russell or Playtex. It’s also a little snapshot of how much television standards — and ideas about women’s bodies — have changed.
Do you think today’s more open approach to showing women of different sizes is better, or did these older commercials leave a little more to the imagination?
