Library Research

Advertisement. The magazine is full of it. By looking at the advertisements of the time, you get a good sense of the people they are selling to. Life magazine has a very broad audience, thus their advertisement would be a good picture of the average consumer in America at the time.

The year is 1937, the October 4^th issue of Life. One of the first advertisements a reader would come upon is for the Remington Noiseless typewriter. The concept behind selling this typewriter is asking the question if parties and a job mix; well don’t fret, because the Remington can “handle both!” In reality, dancing at night has no effect on whether or not your typewriter is quiet and functioning well, nor vice versa. However, this ad campaign sold typewriters. This advertisement, along with one for Maxwell House coffee that “keeps them on top”, plays off the fear of public acceptance and different social anxieties many consumer Americans had in the late 1930s. Today, we would look at these ads and know that drinking Maxwell coffee is not the pivotal point of staying at the top of social hierarchy, even Starbucks for that matter. So it forces the question, have these social anxieties gone away, or are advertisers targeting them differently in today’s world?

The thought of social anxieties going away is almost laughable; I don’t think they ever will. People are always going to be concerned about what others think, about making a good impression, about being able to impress someone. It is in our faulty flesh to think that way.  In the 1930s, the main sources of these anxieties seem to come from what one owned and used to make them presentable. Where as today, that is still a factor, but in advertisement we see a lot more focused on body image. I read an advertisement in Life for Listerine’s treatment of dandruff. The advertisement was very scientifically driven making claims such as “76% got relief” and “kills pityrosporum ovale...” using language an average American wouldn’t understand. Listerine made claims that it was clinical proof, cured rabbits, and it provided relief in two weeks. When I first saw this ad, I thought it was ridiculous and over the top for dandruff relief. Yet looking at it a second time, I was quick to realize that it is very similar to weight-loss advertisements we see today. There are all sorts of new magic diets and pharmacy approved extreme weight loss pills. These use the exact same antics to target the same audience: the American consumer with social anxieties, probably one of the largest and most profitable targets.

So really, as different ads seem to be in different time eras, the means of our culture hasn’t changed. It is our culture the ads adapt to in order to speak to a different generation, but bottom line, it is always the same thing happening. Some ads make this point more clear. Coca-cola had an ad I found interesting in Life that closely resembles the Coke ads of today. It depicted a family drinking together declaring, “Happy moments make a happy family.” This Coca-Cola ad could have the logo blurred out, but I would still know it was for Coke. Different times, same message.

So all of this makes you wonder, is it our need to consume what motivates the advertisers, or is it the advertisements that instill a deeper want to consume? It is a chicken or egg question that we will probably never truly know the answer to.

On a slightly different note, I found it interesting how many of the articles were more consumed with pictures then words. I felt like the advertisements had more to say with their words then the articles did. Yet, two articles that really caught my eye based on content was an article talking about the “spectacular Nazi Congress” and another about the women of the KKK in a church in Washington. Of course there is a picture revealing the scene being talked about, and it was that picture that included a flaming cross at the front of a church, that really caught me off guard. I’ve learned about the KKK in school, and have seen it replicated in movies, but have never seen a true account. The image is shocking, especially in the fact that it is women that are part of the Klan. During this time men were still clearly seen above women (advertisement helps verify by targeting all vacuum cleaners and kitchen supplies to women), yet women were allowed in the Klan and seemed to play a significant role. It’s sad they would play such a large part in degrading a race, yet they themselves aren’t even considered equals in their own home. I found that article very eerie.

Overall, I really enjoyed looking at the 1937 edition of Life. It is cool to see how our generation relates to the people of that time and how our cultures overlap. It is interesting how true that is considering the vast difference of what was happening then compared with now. Even though we have evolved in many ways, there is always going to be a story to report and a product to sell.