Marketing Tactics

These competitors and ads used marketing tactics that not only helped sell the product but also reinforced societal and gender expectations. Advertisements marketed these products not just as hairstyling tools but also as essential for maintaining a woman’s appearance, aligning with ideas of femininity.

Competitors like the Kindness 20 and Clairol 2-Minute Hair Setter used similar marketing terms and tactics. For example, the Kindness 20 catalogue advertisement emphasized speed, ease of use, and safety. Using phrases like heating up in “less than 10 minutes” and requiring “no water or lotion.”Making it seem like an efficient solution for achieving salon-quality hair at home. This reinforced the societal idea that women should be able to manage their hair quickly and effortlessly (Eaton’s 1969, 317).

The Clairol 2-Minute Hair Setter also focused on speed and ease of use as its selling points. The packaging showed step-by-step instructions, which reinforced the idea that the product was easy to use. Also emphasizing safety by saying that the rollers were “not too hot to the touch.” The packaging shows a voluminous, curled hairstyle, which reinforces the beauty standards of the time (Esty n.d).

In addition to these competitors, the Rayette Cinderella Electric Hair-Setter ad shows various hairstyles, and text that suggests how quickly women could change their hairstyle between daily activities, emphasizing speed and ease of use. This ad also emphasises speed and convenience marketing showing how quickly you can change your hairstyle (Retro Adverto 2012).

These marketing strategies focus on selling people the convenience, speed, and ease of use. While reinforcing societal gender roles, positioning women’s appearance as a reflection of their value and suggesting that maintaining beauty required constant effort.

Gender Roles

Women were the sole target for this product for a number of reasons. Societal standards and gender roles being two of the main reasons. Gender roles in the 1960s played a huge role in who bought certain products and why, which in turn affected how and to whom products were marketed. The Samson Dominion Ten Ten Hairsetter is a great example of a product that was heavily targeted toward women, specifically women who stayed at home. “In the 1950s and early 1960s, women were largely expected to be homemakers, dedicating their lives to raising children and supporting their husbands. Sociologists and psychologists of the time told women that they were naturally suited for these roles, and neglecting them would lead to unhappiness and neuroses.” (D’clare 2025, 1) This quote does a great job of summarizing a few very important stereotypes and expectations of women in the 1960’s. The idea that women would be unhappy if they were to neglect their household duties is extremely outdated, but relevant in the context of our artefact. The ads discussed under “Mediation” prove this to be true. According to the book “Women’s Magazines, 1940-1960 : Gender Roles and the Popular Press” magazines during the 60s promoted and reflected the expectations of a woman in the 1960s (Walker 1998, 2). These expectations include traditional gender norms, beauty ideals, promotion of domesticity, and consumerism. More specifically, it was stated that women were not typically encouraged to have jobs, but rather stay at home with their families. Even though they were typically the homemakers, they were still expected to look effortlessly perfect and proper. This included things such as clothing, makeup, and most relevantly, hair. The Kindness 20 (1969) is a good example of marketing that emphasized use of the product, likely encouraging women to buy it. Phrases such as “Less than 10 minutes” “No water, no lotion” and “Rollers cannot overheart” were used to promote the product (Eaton’s 1969, 317). These short but effective phrases made the product out to be quick, easy, safe, comfortable, and effective; all of which are highly intriguing. Since the majority of women were not particularly encouraged to work outside of the home, the independence this product allowed was also a huge selling point. Being able to style one’s hair at home with the outcome of salon quality hair was great and would also help a woman keep up with the unrealistic societal standards of the time.