This 1978 ad photo for New York Magazine stops you cold. A woman in a yellow robe, vacuuming, wearing chunky headphones, and holding a gigantic retro camera. It’s bizarre, unexpected, and impossible to scroll past.
Why this hits hard
- Contrast: Mixing the ordinary (housework) with the absurd (surveillance gear).
- Curiosity gap: You instantly wonder, “What’s going on here?”
- Visual tension: Every element feels out of place, forcing your brain to pause.
- Timeless oddness: Even decades later, it still sparks intrigue.
Real-world parallels
- Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” flipped boring body wash tropes into absurd comedy.
- Apple’s “1984” ad did the same by breaking every norm in tech advertising.
- Liquid Death uses shocking contrast (metal branding for water) to dominate social feeds.