Sexist Volkswagen Ad, 1964

This ad from 1964 shows a Volkswagen that has gotten into an accident and states, “Sooner or later, your wife will drive home one of the best reasons for owning a Volkswagen.” The reason the car is dented up is because they are saying the wife crashed the car.

Another long-running joke is directed at how women make terrible drivers. This is considered sexist because it makes an inaccurate generalization that no woman can drive well. Sure, some women even in modern society are not skilled drivers—but the operative word is “some” and not “all” just like some men also can’t keep their cool on the road.

This is one of Volkswagen’s many ads that ridiculed women as bad, distracted, and nervous drivers. The ad publicizes that even though women are soft and gentle, they hit things once they’re behind the wheel. Volkswagen encourages men to buy a Beetle because its parts, such as the bumper and fender, are easy and cheap to replace.

Intended to be funny, the ad more than implies that women will always get in car accidents and make the men furious but at least not poor. The last line in the ad copy that says you can replace anything in the car, “Even the breaks,” seems to be maliciously suggesting something else.