Advertisements do not simply mirror the times in which they are produced. Ordinary people did not necessarily think or feel in the ways the characters in the ads did. Instead advertisements are temptations, appeals to the consumer's fantasies, fears, and needs. The six ads collected here all suggest that particular purchases will help the consumer cope with the Great Depression. Can you construct categories in which two or more of the ads usefully might fall? Are there common elements in all or most of the six? What are some of the contrasts you can find?
The text reads, in part: "Men by the Thousand Turn to Pipe Smoking. . . . It seems that literally thousands of men are discovering for the first time the real, solid pleasure of a pipe and good tobacco. Other thousands who had been swept away from the calmness and composure of pipe smoking by the speed of the Prosperity Era are turning back to the pipe for ease, relaxation, and comfort. Most of us are searching now for the solid things of life. The custom of pipe smoking lies deep in the American scheme. It has a reason - a solidity - a background rich in the associations of rugged native character." Copyright Lorillard Tobacco Co., PO Box 21688, Greensboro, NC 27420. All rights reserved. In American Magazine, Vol. 115, June 1933, p. 87. Many advertisements completely ignored the Depression. Many others commented on it, sometimes obliquely as in this ad for Edgeworth tobacco, and sometimes directly as in ads that emphasized new, lower prices. Here the Twenties is "the Prosperity Era" whose speed had lured pipe smokers away (presumably to cigarettes). In 1933, however, "most of us are searching now for the solid things of life." A few months earlier, in his inauguration speech President Roosevelt had told Americans that "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." The Edgeworth ad offers variations on that theme by emphasizing the "calmness and composure of pipe smoking." Pipe smoking was an American practice, it went on. "It has a reason - a solidity - a background rich in the associations of rugged native character." The ad does not point out that the pipe smokere can save money by switching from cigarettes, perhaps because Lorillard also marketed them.
The text reads, in part: "This Dinner in a Dish costs only 43¢. . . six servings for 38¢. . . a hearty meal for six at 47¢." Copyright Procter & Gamble, One Procter & Gamble Plaza, Cincinnati, OH 45202. All rights reserved. In Better Homes and Gardens, April 1933, back cover. "Each one of these 3 dishes invites your family to a hearty meal of meat, starchy food and a vegetable. Each tastes different!" All are made with Criso. The emphasis upon affordability reflects the economic hardships so many potential customers faced.
The text reads, in part: "It's no secret to you that colds are expensive. They run up all kinds of bills. Over a billion dollars is America's annual penalty. And in time lost from jobs alone, according to estimates based on U.S. Public Health Service figures, colds cost more than $450,000,000 a year. Lessen your share of this loss. Save on colds this winter." Copyright Procter & Gamble, One Procter & Gamble Plaza, Cincinnati, OH 45202. All rights reserved. In Saturday Evening Post, Vol. 205, Jan. 7, 1933, p. 61. The challenge facing manufacturers during the Great Depression was getting frightened consumers to spend more. The strategy adopted here was to promise that if people would "follow Vicks Plan for better Control-of-Colds" and use its nose and throat drops to "prevent many colds" and to end colds sooner, they would save money by not missing work. There is a second, implicit argument. Most workers were afraid they might lose their jobs. If their boss were to lay someone off, wouldn't he be more likely to choose the person who missed the most time? In this context, the menacing dollar sign — like the bars of a cell — fits the overall message. The ad stands in contrast to that for Edgeworth. That promised "calmness and composure." This one preyed upon the insecurities of the average person.
The text reads, in part: "FREE $30,000 CASH and 15,000 PAIRS of $1.35 Silk Stockings. 6 Big Weekly Contests. Enter each week, 7530 prizes in all. Vie for $1000 cash prizes each week. Win! Start now! Complete this sentence: I use Ivory Flakes for washing my silk stockings because . . . in 25 additional words or less." Copyright Procter & Gamble, One Procter & Gamble Plaza, Cincinnati, OH 45202. All rights reserved. In Saturday Evening Post, May 29, 1937, p. 4. Contests became a staple of Depression Era ads. Consumers were urged to write jingles, complete sentences, decode puzzles. The prizes, money aside, reveal much about life in the 1930s. Nothing was more glamorous than a woman wearing silk stockings. But they were expensive. Most families struggled to get by on less than $2,000 a year. $2.70 worth of hosiery, as a result, was a very alluring prize. And a $1,000 was a king's ransom.
The text reads, in part: "When birds and millionaires are flitting South and you are left behind in your winter overcoat to think about the coal [i.e. heating] bills . . . Ivory takes pleasure in inviting you to go on a private summer cruise . . . a rosy, South Sea Island dream." Procter and Gamble, Saturday Evening Post (1931). In this ad the consumer is counselled to seek consolation from worries of the bad economic times (and heating bills) in daydreams. Only millionaires can enjoy the warm southern breezes, perhaps, but anyone can draw a bath and go on a "private summer cruise," no clothes required. The dreamer can imagine whoever he wants as inviting him to "stroll up this gangplank." The figure issuing the invitation has no distinguishing features. But the ad more than hints at what kind of daydream the bather is likely to have if he is fantasing about being on a sailboat, "carefree as a playboy," in the South Seas without any clothes. In this context, the classic Ivory tagline about being so pure that it floats acquires a new level of meaning.
The text reads, in part: "A minor incident, perhaps, yet Cyclone Fence that protects children at play . . . also safeguards lawns and gardens from careless and malicious trespassers, keeps out destructive animals and provides home privacy at all times." Copyright United States Steel Corp., 600 Grant St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219-2800. All rights reserved. In Better Homes and Gardens, June 1933, p. 60. Here too the theme is fear. Two boys, one rich, one poor, glare at each other. The poor boy daunts the other, "Come on out and Fight!" His large aggressive dog climbs up the fence that protects the rich lad and his dog, which is smaller and calmer. All of the menace is on the one side, all of the security on the other. An earlier ad that appeared in Fortune in April 1932 warned: "When your property boundaries are no more than lines on a blueprint - how can you keep out the prowler, the thief, the careless troublemaker, the possible incendiary? Your business - your home - your factory - all have the priceless value of something achieved through personal struggle."
