All American Ads of the 20s

Published 29 October 2004
The rip-roaring twenties Prohibition made liquor illegal but all the more fun to drink. Speak easies, luxury cars, women's liberation, and a booming economy kept the country's mood on the up-and-up. Women sheared off their locks and taped their chests, sporting pageboys and flapper dresses and doing the Charleston until their legs gave out. Gangsters flourished in the big cities and gangster movies flourished in Hollywood. It was the roaring twenties in America: a singular time in history, a lull between two world wars and the last gas before the nation's descent into the Great Depression. Check out the decade's best advertisements in the newest addition to our All-American Ads series.