In Russia, Advertising Is Often Very Sexist — And Very Weird

Russia has come a long way since the the Iron Curtain fell in 1991, and capitalism — or an oligarchic version thereof — blossomed.

But Russian attitudes toward women often remain antediluvian. As recently as twenty years ago, for instance, it was rare to see a woman driving a car, according to Radio Free Europe. Under communism, the image of the Russian woman in a propaganda poster was a dowdy worker in denim and a headscarf.

Not so today. In modern Russian advertising, women have taken on a new role: sex object.

Ads being made in modern Russia look like the kind of thing we used to see in the U.S. in the early 1970s — "sexy," but in the most sexist way possible. None of the ads in this gallery would fly in the U.S. this century.

This was one of very few safe-for-work months in the 2011 promotional calendar for Aeroflot, the Russian airline.

This is a brand of Russian candy flavored-cigarettes targeting teenage girls.

This is anti-alcohol public health campaign from M&C Saatchi in Moscow. (The copy is in English because ad agencies post translations of their work on AdsoftheWorld.com for international clients to see.)

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