Advertising in America War to the PostWar Era

Advertising in America War to the Post-War Era

Advertising Federation of America n n n n Continue all normal distribution functions that do not impede war efforts; Maintain channels and trade contacts for future needs of industry; Preserve customer good will; Keep brand names alive; Prepare to build markets for post-war output of enlarged capacities; Keep enterprises alive and capable of resuming full employment; Preserve desire for eventual higher living standards; Discourage lowering of present living conditions beyond necessary restrictions of war

Rationed Goods Ads

Unrestricted Consumption Ads promoted the purchase of products available in unrestricted quantities

Deferred Purchasing Ads n Waiting until peace to purchase n Emphasis on war bonds

Working towards the war effort 1943 3 M Scotch Tape War Effort advertisement. Explains how Scotch Tape provides a waterproof seal, dustproof seal for the cartons that contain replacement parts for tanks and trucks. In all, more than 100 types of tape are saving precious minutes on the front line and the assembly lines.

Other Appeals

Wartime posters

n. A special wellknown poster n the propaganda purpose n the seeds of the feminist movement

n 1950 (post war) n post war representation of women in advertising returned to pre-war standards, emphasizing women’s role as mothers and wives

From War to Post-War n The world of consumption had been hindered by the ‘un-American’ values that the war was fighting against. n Post-war freedom was the freedom to spend and the freedom to consume…

Post War n Economic boom following World War II allowed many Americans to become consumers. n Advertisers appealed to this dream of a more convenient life. n Some are still well known in America today.

n The American dream- more $$$ = more consuming n Advertisers aimed at housewives- Betty Crocker n. Domestic products for the home from the war period onwards were advertised in order to ease the lives of women.

n Dramatic expansion of American purchasing power- companies were constantly striving to meet and exceed consumer’s desires. n By 1946 companies were targeting women with technology. • Gendered advertising – pink, positioning other objects associated with women in the same frame, object or subject orientated, noir typing and veiled women. Object orientation refers to the woman as a rhetorical or aesthetic figure for an audience, which may or may not be female. • Subject orientation is based on representations, which are targeted at a female audience. • • Noir typing where subject/object distinctions collapse and a woman is both addressed and objectified and the American woman was expected to identify with this. Women were often eroticised.