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Julia Mandik

Professor Charles McNally

History 203-701

25 May 2010

How America Changed Advertising and Advertising Changed America

Advertising as it is known today has evolved greatly over the past century. Until the

1890’s, advertising agencies were rare and performed a service that was not in large demand.

Although word of mouth promotion has always existed, marketing strategies began to change as

new technologies, such as radio and television, were invented, and these advertisements, in turn,

helped to shape the path of many key events in American history, including the country’s

involvement in world wars, roles of women, and presidential elections.

In the 1890’s, there was an increased production in all kinds of goods, and with that came

greater competition between different manufacturing companies. Manufacturers were pressed

with the issue of overproduction, and company leaders saw advertising as a means to stimulate

public demand for their products. This rise in industry is what led to the creation of modern

advertising, and it was American companies who stepped up to the challenge (Turner 169).

At the turn of the century, the first big-name advertiser emerged on the scene, Albert

Davis Lasker, who has since been proclaimed the “father of modern advertising” (Turner 172).

He was able to rise in distinction through his exciting and provocative layouts and illustrations,

and he eventually became the leader at the agency Lord and Thomas, making millions of dollars

in advertising (172). It was people like Lasker who determined what advertising was supposed to

mean, and how one could use associations to allow a reader to recall a memory from his own

experience upon viewing the message of the ads. These ad executives understood the importance

of using common desires, such as health, wealth, smart clothing, and privilege, to attract

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attention and appeal to the common man about what he can achieve through the use of certain

products or services (174).

Throughout the first decade of the century, advertising became connected with the

automobile race as well. Once Henry Ford’s assembly process was able to mass-produce 10,000

cars annually, he understood the importance of his name becoming a household term. One story

that was spread about Ford at the time was that an elderly woman had shipped tin cans to the

Ford Company. She soon received a Ford car and a letter explaining that the leftover cans would

be credited to her. Whether this anecdote is true or not, Ford often encouraged the use of silly

stories and jokes to promote his brand image. Ford was one of the first manufacturers who was

willing to laugh at himself, something that became common, especially in the automobile

industry, in later decades (Turner 181).

At the start of World War I, America faced some difficult decisions about its entry and

involvement in the war. The American people had elected Woodrow Wilson on his campaign

promise to keep them out of the war, and now it seemed that United States involvement was

inevitable (Mock and Larson 3). Not all Americans agreed with the declaration of war, and in

response the President established the Committee on Public Information, which was literally an

advertising agency intended to sway the public opinion in favor of the war effort. George Creel

was appointed as the head of the Committee (4). Creel had a background in journalism, as well

as an extensive network of acquaintances in politics, literature, and the arts, and it was his wife’s

friendship with President Wilson’s daughter that helped him gain close ties with the President in

order to earn the position as head of the CPI (57).

The goal of the CPI was to inform the American people about what was occurring around

the world, and to convince each person to do his part in the war effort. The committee took

several steps to achieve this, and many of its resources were spent on encouraging the sale of war

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bonds, as well as trying to demoralize and instill hated of the enemy. The CPI published a daily

newspaper, the Official Bulletin, as a way to publicly release the text of orders, proclamations,

and reports. The bulletin was distributed to government agencies, such as military camps and

post offices, as well as to private subscribers. The bulletins were also released to newspapers in

order for the articles to be published in a wider circulation. Through the Official Bulletin, the CPI

was able to give the people a record of the actions performed by the United States in the War

(Mock and Larson 93).

While the Official Bulletin took care of the written word, the CPI established an

advertising division, led by many of the most important advertising associations in the country,

in order to promote patriotism and encourage certain actions from the public. This division took

care of gaining advertising space for use by the CPI. Most of the time, the space was bought by

individual advertisers and then donated to the CPI for government use (Mock and Larson 96).

Artists and illustrators were also brought into the CPI to help promote war activities. Without the

use of radio or broadcasting, paintings and cartoons were a powerful way to symbolize wartime

activities and promote the sale of war bonds. The Division of Pictorial Publicity was responsible

for 700 poster designs, 310 advertising illustrations, and 287 cartoons. It was during this time

that James Montgomery Flagg introduced the most famous image of the Uncle Sam character on

a recruitment poster (see Figure 1). This CPI program was also responsible for the introduction

of buttons, which inspired an era of “outdoor advertising worn on the person” (105). For the

duration of the war, the United States was able to use advertising and the Committee for Public

Information to promote its efforts and retain the commitment of the American people to its

cause.

As soon as the war ended and the 1920’s began, resources could again be devoted to

manufacturing new and fantastic, although highly expensive goods, such as refrigerators,

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washing machines, and radios. People had to see advertisements for these products and not just

want them, but want to upgrade to new ones every year also (Turner 214). American people

began to live more lavishly, and this was the time when it became common to feel ashamed

about not being able to purchase exciting new products. The 1920’s were an decade of

prosperity, where people felt the need to buy not just one car, but two (218). The advertisers

encouraged them to support American companies and provide employment for American

workers. Even greeting card makers, candy salesmen, and florists experienced a boom in

business by promoting occasions besides Christmas and birthdays. Mother’s Day, in particular,

was a holiday that was created by these companies and promoted through advertising campaigns

until it became a nationwide celebration (219).

With the Stock Market Crash in 1929, advertisers suffered right away. Manufacturers

accepted that they had to cut back on their advertising spending, which meant less business for

themselves as well as the advertisers. Ad executives tried to curb this decrease in revenue by

encouraging advertising as a way to end the economic decline, but to no avail. Because of this,

ad agencies were willing to take on more vulgar campaigns, in particular for personal hygiene

products, such as razors, deodorant, and mouthwash (Turner 234). Many companies turned to

cruder humor than had been seen before, using ideas like seduction or marital infidelity. For

example, until the 1930’s, perfume had been sold as something intended for virtuous women to

imply innocence. However, it was now being suggested as a trap for men, to be used to lure

unsuspecting gentlemen into women’s grasps (238). Because Americans no longer had the funds

to spend lavishly, admen needed to be more creative than ever, and often tried to use shock value

in ads in order to grab readers’ attention.

In 1939, after World War II had started but before the United States was involved, most

of the companies who were buying ad space were those who were manufacturing goods as part

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of the war effort, such as industrial steel manufacturers who produced materials for soldiers.

Because the United States was building up its defense industries, the majority of these ads were

not meant to sell products, but rather to explain the contributions of certain manufacturers to

defense production (Jones 4). Some ads incorporated war themes into them, and helped to boost

home front morale by helping explain why certain products or materials were scarce. Others used

sentimentality to encourage sales of certain products. One example of this type of advertisement

(although it was published after the United States entered the war) is an ad for Kodak film which

featured a photograph of a soldier at home for Christmas, with the caption “Snapshots never

meant so much as now” (see Figure 2). Kodak used this imagery to induce a feeling of nostalgia

and stress the importance of having family photographs during war-time, which is what made

this ad stand out (8).

It was after the bombing of Pearl Harbor that the United States government and

advertisers took a more proactive effort to affect the American people through print ads. One of

the most important tasks was to promote a national sense of unity, which the December 1941

attack had already helped to encourage (Jones 5). After Pearl Harbor, Americans were already

sold on patriotism and American values, and admen created advertisements that utilized these

ideals as “a reminder to the home front of why we were at war, why we had to win, and what

we’d stand to lose if we lost the war” (Jones 38). There were some ads intended entirely to

explain to Americans the reasons for participating in the war, rather than asking them to take

action or get involved individually (39). Overall, advertising techniques played an important role

in the involvement of the United States in World War II. Advertisements that were able to

manipulate emotions helped to boost public morale on the home front and overseas, and

encouraged individual participation by promoting war bonds and victory gardens. By explaining

the greater purpose of saving money and the sacrifice that came with rationing, the American

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people felt united in a cause and supported the government’s war-time activities. After the

contributions of admen to the government in both World War I and World War II, use of

advertising for promoting government activities became an accepted practice that continues

today.

Throughout the first half the century, presidential campaigns had evolved along with the

new technology and marketing strategies. Until the 1890’s, presidential campaigning had

consisted of candidates touring the country and promoting themselves by making appearances

and having other political supporters do the same to garner votes by word of mouth (Jamieson 3).

Traditionally, as soon as a candidate was nominated by his party, he would write a letter of

acceptance that explained his platform and campaign promises. The letter would be published in

newspapers and distributed, and the candidate would then go about his business until being

informed that he had been elected (16).

The first person to challenge this traditional election practice was William Jennings

Bryan in 1896. Bryan announced his acceptance of the candidacy in a speech in Madison Square

Garden. It was with this opening address that Bryan became known as a pioneer of the modern

campaign, by making speeches nationwide and promoting himself with passion (Jamieson 17). It

was Bryan’s obvious enthusiasm that encouraged William McKinley to pursue votes for himself,

and later go on to win, marking the first time that two candidates had shown real opposition to

each other and actually competed for votes (18).

In the elections that followed McKinley’s, political advertising transformed into

something that had never been seen before, aided by the development of new technologies,

particularly radio and television. Before it became a valuable marketing tool, the radio had its

first political use broadcasting a speech by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 (Jamieson 24).

Radio created a national audience, meaning that listeners in the city and on farms heard the same

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message. Because of this, presidential candidates could no longer make conflicting promises to

people of different areas depending on what those people wanted to hear as they had done in the

past. They could, however, reach a far greater number of listeners in general than they could

have if they had traveled around the country, an advantage that far surpassed the issue of empty

campaign promises. A candidate simply had to alter his message to apply to all listeners across

the country (Jamieson 20).

Another result of the use of radio was the sudden importance of adjusting speech delivery

to match the medium. Candidates who did not adjust their speaking voices to suit the intimate

listening experience created by radio would have their popularity decrease (Jamieson 20). After

being elected, by using radio to bring the president’s words into American homes, he became

human and his words became living things, not just text on paper that was edited several times

over before presented to the general public. One of the greatest examples of this is Franklin

Roosevelt and his “fireside chats,” which at one time reached over 60 million listeners, allowing

him to connect with a troubled country during the Great Depression (21). The radio provided

new opportunities for candidates as well as all levels of elected officials, and in turn affected the

way the people viewed their leaders and government.

The advent of television also spawned a new series of advantages and disadvantages for

presidential candidates, and in 1948, television became an important factor in political events.

That election became the first in which presidential candidates paid for air time to promote their

campaigns (Jamieson 34). This led to further changes to the campaign process, which came in

the form of media advisors, who were responsible for producing the candidate’s advertising and

campaign strategies. For the first time, presidential candidates were regularly hiring advertising

agencies to produce materials for them (35). Over time, the position of media consultant evolved

and the advisor grew more powerful in his position to the point where he played a major part in

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deciding the advertising and communication strategies. Eventually, political media consulting

became a profession on its own, with new advertising firms opening up to specialize in campaign

services (36).

In 1952, television was being used full-force by both Democrats and Republicans in the

election campaigns of Adlai Stevenson and Dwight Eisenhower. Eisenhower’s campaign spent

more money purchasing time for television spots and commercials featuring him while

Stevenson’s strategy involved buying airtime to deliver speeches. Because Eisenhower’s

advisors knew that public speaking was one of Stevenson’s strengths, they decided that he

should turn down the opportunity to debate him on television (Jamieson 43). Television was not

without its disadvantages for Stevenson. For one thing, television had time constraints that

Stevenson had trouble limiting himself to, and he often ran over his allotted time frames. He also

tended to use university-level language, unlike Eisenhower, which lost him appeal with the less-

educated voters in society (59). Because he generally disliked recording his lines for his

television spots, his line delivery often sounded unnatural (63). Stevenson was slow to embrace

the participation of the Madison Avenue agencies in his campaign, and he was reluctant to

change himself to fit the image desired by his campaign advisors (64). In the end, it is possible

that his media consultants could have saved his campaign and he could have won the election, if

he had only been more willing to listen to the admen the Democratic Party had hired.

From these beginnings, campaign strategies have evolved over time, to the point where

the advertising consultants have become one of the most important parts of any campaign. An

important lesson that future candidates learned from the 1952 election is that public image can

make or break a campaign. These experiments and discoveries have led to the television

commercials, televised debates, and other marketing strategies that exist today.

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Many of these early advertising techniques have endured until today. Henry Ford’s early

Model T ads and stories inspired later companies to poke fun at themselves. As new products

and competing companies materialized, creating newer, more eye-catching advertisements

became very important. One of the most unique automobile advertising campaigns is

Volkswagen, a foreign company that hired an American ad agency to create its broadcast and

print ads in the United States. The ad agency, Doyle Dane Bernbach, saw that something

completely unique, rather than traditional car advertisements, had to be produced in order to

promote the car that, in the 1960’s, had not yet become a mainstream brand (Levenson 27). What

emerged from these creative minds was something completely original: funny, thoughtful, and

eye-catching, even in black and white, which led to a long line of clever Volkswagen

advertisements (see Figure 3).

Advertisements also reflected the changing roles of women in society. During times of

war, when more women were needed to take over factory jobs, posters began to circulate

encouraging women to join the workforce, particularly Westinghouse’s “We Can Do It!” poster

(see Figure 4), and Norman Rockwell’s “Rosie the Riveter” cover for the Saturday Evening Post

(see Figure 5), both produced during World War II. These images showed powerful women who

were taking charge and doing their part to help their country. Besides inspiring women to take

action, archetypal symbols were used to sell products whose intended consumers were mainly

women (Randazzo 78). Women who desired to be seen as good mothers would purchase items

from the General Mills brand that contained images of Betty Crocker, who was seen as an ideal

symbol of motherhood. Feminists in the 1970’s often complained that Betty Crocker perpetuated

a stereotype of women as caregivers and housewives, an idea that prevented them from realizing

their true potential (125). However, the image of Betty Crocker, first introduced in 1921, has

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survived several makeovers in order to modernize her and make her appeal to new generations of

women (126).

Throughout the century, advertising executives have played important roles in many

historical events, and the many decades’ worth of advertisements reflect how much society has

grown and changed. Admen saw where the opportunities were and pursued them. They saw how

the country was changing, and met with challenges in unique ways. They took on new

responsibilities during times of depression and war, and were able to boost the morale of an

entire country. At times they were charged with presenting government officials and activities to

people and winning public support, which they did. Without the development and evolution of

different advertising techniques, and without the creative minds behind them, there is no telling

how history would be different.

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Figure 1

One of James Montgomery Flagg’s original

Uncle Sam posters

Figure 2

Kodak film advertisement, 1941

Figure 3

Early Volkswagen ad, 1960

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Figure 4

“We Can Do It!” by J. Howard Miller

Used as a work incentive poster in a

Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing

Company factory.

Figure 5

Rosie the Riveter, original artwork by Norman

Rockwell, created for a cover of the Saturday

Evening Post

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Works Cited

Flagg, James Montgomery, 1877-1960.. I want you for U.S. Army : nearest recruiting station..

Garden City, N.Y.. UNT Digital Library.

http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc451/. Accessed May 25, 2010.

Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. Packaging the Presidency: a History and Criticism of Presidential

Campaign Advertising. New York: Oxford UP, 1984. Print.

Jones, John Bush. All-out for Victory!: Magazine Advertising and the World War II Home Front.

Waltham, Mass.: Brandeis UP, 2009. Print.

Kodak Advertisement. 1941. Reprint. All-out for Victory!: Magazine Advertising and the World War

II Home Front. By John Bush Jones. Waltham, Mass.: Brandeis UP, 2009. 9. Print.

Levenson, Bob. Bill Bernbach's Book: a History of the Advertising That Changed the History of

Advertising. New York: Villard, 1987. Print.

Miller, Howard J. "We Can Do It". Poster. 1942. National Museum of American History,

Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC. Web. 25 May 2010.

Mock, James Robert., and Cedric Larson. Words That Won the War; the Story of the Committee on

Public Information, 1917-1919,. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1939. Print.

Randazzo, Sal. Mythmaking on Madison Avenue: How Advertisers Apply the Power of Myth &

Symbolism to Create Leadership Brands. Chicago, Ill.: Probus Publishing Company, 1993.

Print.

Rockwell, Norman. “Rosie the Riveter”. 1943. Painting. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Bentonville, AR. Web. 25 May 2010.

Turner, E. S. The Shocking History of Advertising! New York: Dutton, 1953. Print.

Volkswagen "Lemon" Advertisement. 1960. Reprint. Bill Bernbach's Book: A History of the

Advertising That Changed the History of Advertising. By Bob Levenson. New York: Villard,

1987. 29. Print.