Throughout the years of the 20th and 21st centuries, the telephone has been vital to American Life. By the middle of the 20th century, everyone had a home telephone, or access to one. Back then, Bell Telephone (AKA AT&T) was considered a utility. It was the only choice for phone service. The phone company was like the gas company, or electric company. Unlike other utilities, Bell Telephone had the ability to market products that extended beyond the dial tone. Bell Telephone ads were seen frequently in mid-century women’s magazines to advertise products like long distance calling or phone extensions.
Bell Telephone Long Distance Ads – 1950s and 1960s
The above ad was found in the January 1959 edition of Good Housekeeping magazine. The tagline is amusing based on our current love of our phones.
Reach for your phone and have a happy time
Bell Telephone System Ad – January 1959
Bell Telephone ads found in 1950s and 1960s women’s magazines targeted family life. Here is one that showed a smiling dad and a daughter swimming.
The above summer ad told folks to use Bell Telephone’s long distance service to phone hotels to make reservations.
Here’s another 1960s Bell Telephone Long Distance ad using an adorable child to tug at the heartstrings of grandparents.
Here is one more 1950s Bell Telephone long distance ad. This one from the mid-fifties tells the cost of long distance calling. It was not cheap. The price shown at the bottom of the ad was the price per minute.
Bell Telephone Phone Extension Ads – 1950s and 1960s
Besides marketing their long distance service, Bell Telephone had other ways to make money. Selling extension phones was big business in the mid-century. An extension phone was an extra phone that families purchased from Bell Telephone. These phones were used in other rooms of the house where family members could pick-up using a single line.
This ad shows mothers how easy life would be if only she had an extension rotary phone in her kitchen.
The yellow landline rotary phone shown in the ad was popular in the mid-century. Made to attach to a wall, it provided convenience by freeing up counter space. These type of phones had long cords that allowed the caller to walk from one room to the next while talking on the phone.
Here is another ad for extension phones showing mother and children.
This ad from the 1960s shows the fashionable and colorful telephones offered by Bell Telephone.
Mid-Century Page 
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