Cashmere Bouquet Soap Ad Illustration 

Haddon Hubbard Sundblom created this advertisement illustration for Cashmere Bouquet Soap, but the exact date of its creation remains elusive. It’s important to remember that advertising is a social practice. Here we have a carefully constructed image of heterosexual romance designed to sell a lifestyle as much as a product. The cultural references are clear. The woman is dressed in white, like a bride. Both figures are young, attractive, and impeccably groomed. The flowers, of course, evoke traditional associations of love and courtship. Sundblom was an American artist who specialized in advertising. The image speaks to the conservative values of the mid-twentieth century. It's a reminder of the way advertising participated in a larger project of shaping social norms, particularly around gender and sexuality. To understand this advertisement more fully, one might research the history of advertising, the changing social roles of women, and the visual culture of mid-century America. The meaning of any work of art depends on the social and institutional context in which it was made.