In a politically correct age, they seem like outrageous anachronisms.

And there is no doubt that certain adverts – many taken from the first half of the last century, NOT SO LONG AGO! – reveal just how much women used to be caricatured as downtrodden housewives or hair-brained office girls.

Now, a new book – You Mean A Woman Can Open It?: The Woman’s Place In The Classic Age Of Advertising – brings together images which would surely cause a howl of protest if they were released today.

It’s amazing how much women had achieved in the last 30 years (the image of this post is a MINI campaign from 1971!). BUt in the adult entertainment industry we have still A LOT to do and many battles to fight!

More information and pictures in The Daily Mail