1974 Ad for “Rebel Rebel” Single

I came across this ad, apparently from 1974, for the “Rebel Rebel” single. It’s a fascinating piece of art featuring a male figure, apparently Bowie, looking into a full-length mirror and seeing a female figure, apparently Angie Bowie, staring back (in her underwear). The text of the ad are the lyrics from the song, which I take it are meant to be shocking. Not that I have really studied advertisements for individual songs, but I don’t remember ever seeing anything like this where the lyrics are the ad text. The pitch to buy the song is made via words and images but not, because of the inherent limits of the print media, actual music.

It’s hard not to see this ad and think about how ideas about gender identity have evolved over the past 50 years. On its most basic level, this is a picture of a biological male identifying as female. I don’t think the ad is trying to appeal to people who identify thus but is trying to be taboo. At least I think that’s the goal. And then, it’s not simply a male seeing himself (herself?) as a female, but Bowie seeing himself as his wife. (How many people, even in 1974, would have known that was Angie Bowie staring back at David?) And its Angie’s face that is in full view, not David’s— I’m guessing that despite the ad’s theme of gender ambiguity, it is also marketing the song with a picture of a pretty girl in her underwear.

One more thing— what’s the with the faux book? Nowhere on the ad is there anything about “Rebel Rebel” actually being a song or a single album. It seems more like an ad for a work of literature. And no, its not explained in the fine print— the fine print are more lyrics form the song!

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I also included an image of the latest issue of Uncut, which features Bowie in the upper right-hand corner. Nothing really more to say about that except that the image of Bowie is still being used to sell stuff.