Advert for breastfeeding

I called this post "Advert for Breastfeeding" because that was a lovely phrase my lovely Health Visitor used to describe my first baby when she was a huge chubby milky lump! :-)

Here are some adverts from the past and present. It's my little hobby collection - would love to have any you can recommend, too?! I like ads that show breastfeeding of older children as well as babies. Also ads that show how easy it is for Mums to breastfeed out of their homes - let's show the world that it is the normal way to feed children.


If an image is too small to see, just click the image & it will open up full size for you.

First some adverts which show breastfeeding, but are also advertising another product:

• An advert for Benetton, the old United Colours campaign. Very striking!
• Here's an old ad for Beer - which uses breastfeeding! The look on the baby's face on the left side is priceless. Read more here about the effects of alcohol on BF.
• And here's a very old advert for a car - at first our modern eyes see the shocked expressions and assume they are shocked at the breastfeeding... but actually they are amazed at the car technology?!

 

De Dion-Bouton

Now on, to The Real Thing:

• Some from New Zealand (Thanks to Sarah C for bringing back the copy of a "Hello" type of mag - had one of these adverts in as a full page!!!!!!! Fantastic.)

(See also this beautiful Maori advert, and this page on Plunket Babies - a lovely cottage hospital tradition in NZ, very pro-BF)
And here is an older advert from NZ; the caption reads 'Outstandingly Healthy'. See a page here describing how it turned out.

• Here are a few lovely old USA ones:- the first is from the 1930s (an AMA poster), and the second is from ~1938 (link - and see the comment - should republish, but replace the bottom line with: "Consult anyone but your Doctor!"). {Both are available on breastfeedingart.net}

• A little more modern: from 1973 (source)

• An ad from Shelby County which shows how BF is for the whole family.

 

• Design students took part in a competition in 2007 to try & get Britain Breastfeeding - 6 of the winners are available as posters from this UK site. You can also view the DVD "Bump to Breastfeeding" which mothers are given antenatally now for free. 
• Some adverts use a double circled image to catch the eye... such as these American poster adverts... see one here.
• A similar visual trick of doubling up to suggest breasts is employed in this American ad (and read here about the more controversial ads from this campaign which were never used).

• Then the ads - used in the national press - from the Best for Babes campaign group:

• Some adverts simply show breastfeeding, pure & simple. An ad from Norway:-

• See also some ads on our Facebook group's photos collection, such as those of the Lancashire Be A Star campaign.
• An Argentinian BF promotion poster (source, but the year is unknown).  Sadly this image was one victim of Facebook's deletion campaign.

• An ad now from Switzerland - it says "pointe de ravitaillement" or "point of resupply". Then, strangely; "Un point, c'est tout" = one point, that's all (surely most have two??).

• An advert now from 2002, with actress Lucy Lawless who played Xena. The slogan says "Breastfeeding - my best role ever".

• Adverts here from Northern Ireland - they are aimed squarely at the public, and at fathers - telling them that Breastfeeding mothers need their support. 

• Bit of a cheat, this one - it's a made-up advert for the Tru-Breast.  But... what if Breastfeeding was advertised?!

Some International Video Adverts for Breastfeeding

• One from Hull, UK
• A pair from the USA.
• One from Scotland. 
• One from Northern Ireland.
• One which is typically direct, from Australia.
• A kind of advert - a documentary named Formula-fed America.
• And lastly, a beauty from Puerto Rico (Dar la Teta es Dar la Vida - means to Give the Breast is to Give Life!)

• Here's a cute advert which tries to go against the sterotypical image of a Breastfeeding mother... It's for all walks of life!

• My child has designed several of her own - so look out! (And you'll see other children's artwork on BF: here.)

• Breastfeeding Welcome sign for public places. Wish they weren't necessary.

• Images here from another culture -- Japan has a shrine dedicated to the Goddess of the Breast, where you can leave 'wishes' - to wish for smooth feeding of your new baby, for example.
• A great collection made here (Picasa Album) of several stamps which portray Breastfeeding.

• Finally, breastfeeding images from another time, with various images of Mary feeding Jesus. Some are very familiar! A couple of great resources for images of Breastfeeding through history - BreastfeedingArt, and Historic Breastfeeding Photos.

So you see, advertising for breastfeeding does happen - but it's still a drop in the ocean compared to the amount spent by F***ula manufacturers! (Read about the techniques used too, in 15 tricks of f***ula companies)

I found this article in PhD in Parenting a very interesting look at how to design Breastfeeding Promotion adverts.

More adverts on this post, but they are a bit less positive.

Do please return, as I often update this page.

And don't forget, I'm always happy to receive links for new additions to this collection!