The Evolution of Vogue Advertisements

The world of fashion and beauty is always changing, and with it, our daily products. No matter the era, Vogue has done an exceptional job promoting products. As we read on, we will learn how the most prestigious fashion brand reaches its desired audience.

Who is Vogue?

Vogue is a worldwide presence in the fashion industry. It covers ideas of beauty, art, politics, culture and entertainment. This wide range of topics means Vogue offers something for everyone, but its ideal audience is generally women. Vogue’s first issue was released in 1892, and it’s never looked back.

The First Issue

At the time of Vogue’s first release, America had just gone through the Civil War. The world needed something entertaining and new, hence Vogue. The first release included lifestyle and fashion geared toward both men and women. From “floral garniture” to “jeweled hair ornaments,” Vogue quickly became a hit. 

The piece was released on December 17, so the advertisements were centered around Christmas time. In this issue we see ads for American Waltham Watch Co, which is still around today, Wilhelm & Graef, a pottery business, and “Marsh Mallow Hair Tonic,” a serum that guarantees to stop hair fall out, along with many others. 

These ads obviously fit their time period, as the fashion in that day was quite fancy compared to today’s outfits. I think our modern take on jeweled hair ornaments is claw clips, but I’d love to see their hair ornaments come back as they were. Also, it’s nice to see the featured watch brand is still around, and maybe they’re only around because they were featured in Vogue’s first issue; what a great advertising strategy that the brand could benefit from now!

Vogue During Wartime

Understandably, a fashion magazine can get thrown to the burner during a rough time in the world, like during WWI & WWII, but Vogue seemed to avoid this fate. Instead of pretending this wasn’t happening, Vogue shifted advertisements toward the war, including mourning outfits, how to dress on a budget and calling women to do their part for the Red Cross. At the same time, the magazine  was still promoting regular products like Coca-Cola, Avon and Elizabeth Arden to bring the ordinary happiness the readers were used to in such a dark time.

The call to women was a very smart move on Vogue’s part. In a time of such need, women were motivated by people like Lee Miller, a model turned war correspondent in WWII. She documented the realities of war, sharing it with the world. On top of this, the image of Rosie the Riveter was created during WWII, which Vogue used to help call women to help. The way the fashion company was able to revolutionize itself in order to help where it could is now a testament to the impact our media can have.

Advertising in the New Millenium

When I think of a magazine, my mind immediately goes to the common design of early 2000s covers. They portray the “It girl” of the time with a very maximalist take on displaying the information on the cover. Vogue did a great job of pulling the reader in with bright colors that pop and grab the attention of your eye.

The advertisements of the day were focused on brands like Estée Lauder, interestingly Marlboro and Calvin Klein. Vogue knew its audience was primarily women, so makeup and fashion were of course  big selling points.he cigarette ad, however, is interesting. During that time 25% of Americans were still smoking, and Marlboro was very popular, so it only made sense to include this.

What About Now?

As of now in 2025, Vogue still focuses on brands like Calvin Klein, Nike and Ralph Lauren, but the cover layout has changed drastically. Instead of the intensely bright and maximal design of 2000, 2025 now focuses on a minimal and sleek cover. Vogue has had a wildly successful career over the last 133 years, and it continues to grow. As our society’s beauty trends change seemingly every day, it will be interesting to see how Vogue stays “in” with the times.