advertising trends in the 1940’s

Jordan Lambrecht

table of

02 introduction04 book one calm, escapism, & tranquility08 book two humor14 book three discovery & adventure 20 book four family values25 book five love, sex, & beauty30 book six trust in science

contents

introduction

The 1940’s was an explosive time for television. Advertisers and creators had just unlocked a brand new realm of marketing, and were hungry to exploit it. Never seen before tactics had to be drafted to capture an audience. The death of radio was immanent, and television was crowned king. The thought of creating an advertisement via moving pictures was a revolutionary concept. The intent of this book is to explore some of the overarching themes that emerged out of this exploratory time period. In my research conducted this semester, I found that there are six main cat-egories that most television advertisements fall under: escapism, humor, joy of discovery, family values, love/sex/beauty, andtrust in science.

02

03

book one

The 40’s was a time of strife, war, and uncertainty. The decade started out with the first attack on American soil. The first nuclear bomb was dropped on a city. People were restless. Such with any time like this, people often searched for a form of escapism and advertising agencies were happy to provide a means of escapism through con-sumerism. Soon we started seeing television adverts claiming tranquility, peace, and calm.

04

calm, escapism, & tranquility

05

06

Gillette takes us away to a tropical paradise, one that we can only experience if we purchase their product.

For this one we watch a woman and her child pin up laundry on a beach. Tide Clean. Clean and bright as the sun on the sand. Clean and fresh as a sea breeze.

Open a Budwiser beer and be transported to a warm, sunny beach.

The National Tea Council reminds us about the tranquility that can be found in a hot cup of tea.

07

book two

Humor. One of humanity’s greatest attributes. It’s a quality that can be applica-ble to almost any situation.

08

humor

09

10

SOS Pads convinces us that their product is superior via crossdressing vikings who sing to us about dishes.

Watch the cigarettes dosey doe! Doesn’t it make you want to smoke? A commercial by Lucky Strikes.

Ritz Crackers presents us with quirky, newlywed couple who are obsessed with crackers to the point of stocking a whole cabinet full of it in this stop motion commercial.

This charming bear dances on a log to encourage us to purchase the beer made in his woods.

11

book three

Often times this catagory sits very closely along side ‘trust in science,’ but it is important to differentiate between the two.

Trusting in science is more of a raised banner in the name of progress, whereas the discovery & adventure camp taps into this internal mechanism that we have as a species. The vast majority of us are programmed to yearn for adventure, excitement, and leaving our mark on the world. We want to do grand things that no other human has ever done. We want to scale mountains, conquer icy tundras, and unlock the secrets of the deep. Thanks to Chevy, all this is possible and more.

12

discovery & adventure

13

14

Dodge gives a glimpse inside of their assembly line. They want us to know that they’re pushing the envelope. “Men and women working together to bring metal to life. We’ll put it together and watch it go!”

Raid shares their excitement over a new advaned discovery. They’ve made a huge breakthroughon a pest killing miracle spray.

Delco Dry Charge Batteries keep our radio towers in contact with military airplanes flying on dangerous missions in harsh weather conditions.

Chevy Trucks are the Champs of the Alcan Run. They can go where no truck has ever been able to go before, the Alcan Run. They can take the inclines and sharp turns of a small mountain pass road.

15

book four

Perhaps one of the mostfundamental cornerstones of the advertising world, family values has its roots far past the world of moving picture, radio, or even print. It has, and will remain until we evolve past the point of having the primal instinct to mate, a staple plan of attack for consumerism. A mother’s instinct is to insure happiness and well-being in her family unit, and the father’s is provide (although we see a slight shift of this in the modern world due to shifting gender roles).

16

family values

17

18

Robt Burns (a cigar company) presents a man in a plush chair who recants a story from his youth. His favorite uncle and him would walk on the beach. His uncle slipped the cigar band around his finger. He finishes the scene with “that memory is what made me start smoking Robt Burns)

Maypo Oatmeal shows us a cartoon of a father and his cowboy-dressed son. His son hates oatmeal and refuses to eat it, so he tries to trick him with the ol’ airplane spoon trick. But his son is wiser than that. It’s not until the dad tries some himself that his son immates him.

in this baby formula commercial, we witness a minute of a mother interacting with her baby. The commercial features no talking or noise from the two on screen, but is set to a lullably. At the end of minute or so, we hear the narra-tor say “your baby. yours to love, protect, care for. to be sure he gets the best of milk, ask your doctor about Pets Evaporated Milk.”

In this incredibly racist Jello commercial, we learn that poor Chinese babies prefer Jello over the competition.

19

book five

This category is a little bit more interesting, especially when comparing it to the evolved version of itself today. Sex has and always will sell, but in the 1940’s it was sold a little bit differently. Love, sex, and body image were viewed from an advertising sense such as this: “If I use this product, then I will become beautiful and will be noticed” as opposed to the more commonly used method today which is “If I use this product, I will be like that famous person who also uses this product.” Also interestinly, we don’t see as much of it as one would think in the early era of commercials - however it quickly snowballs as a catagory as people become more and more desensatized.

20

love, sex, & beauty

21

22

Pepsodent tells us that if we use their toothpaste, our teeth will be whiter. This will make boys notice us, and we can “start going steady.”

Mum’s Deoderant Cream sells a product that will turn you into a mysterious and sexy woman.

23

book six

We begin seeing this trend of science being used as a selling point. Companies and advertising firms start using a perverse version of the scientific method as a shield. This shouldn’t come as a shock, as the 1940’s was the dawn of a new era. Technology was rapidly expanding and new discoveries in science were being uncovered almost daily. Commercials begin to ‘prove’ right in front of your very eyes that their product is superior to the competition’s. This was a brand new trick that never could have been done before and is something that is still heavily used today.

24

trust in science

25

26

RCA Victor drops their radio along with a competitor’s off of a ladder to prove that theirs is stronger.

Westinghouse has four members of the community test out their new washing machine against standard machines that use a centerpost agitator. Westinghouse’s machine returns perfectly clean laundry while their competitor’s are still dirty and coated with mud and grit.

Bulova drops their clipper series watch off of Niagara Falls to prove that if it’s tough enough to survive such a fall, it’s tough enough for your watch collection.

Band-Aid shows us that their bandages are so strong that you can pick up an egg with them. They then show us that you can even dip the egg into boiling water and their bandaid will remain attached.