Post 3 - Peter Das


Advertisers were not blind to the propaganda machines stirred during the Great War. Within the inter-war period, so many of the techniques and strategies used for galvanizing people to arms were modified and adapted for common usage in marketing, and instead of rallying people to pay bonds and rations in return for a sense of satisfaction and patriotism, the strategies and techniques were now recycled in order to rally people to pay money in return for goods and services. Commercialism boomed and fed, in no small degree, the Roaring Twenties that stemmed off of it, and was persistent even through the decades that followed.


Havinden, A. (1935) "Drink Milk Daily" [Poster] Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/3724687130/in/photostream/ January 29, 2020



As the ancestor of the far more recent “got milk” campaign, the “Drink Milk Daily” is an obvious point of reference for the recognizably modern techniques. The message is simple, the design minimalist, and even the image itself is a flat, 2D—yet still recognizable—depiction of a glass of milk. Most importantly, however, is the manner by which “Milk” is in all large letters and stands out far above the rest, shouting at the audience the importance of the vital, life-giving substance.


Harrison, F. C. (1936) "Cooked by Gas" [Poster] Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/3723881481/in/photostream/ January 29, 2020

Purvis, T. (1936) "Gas; Gives Work to 70,000 Miners" [Poster] Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/3723880163/in/photostream/ January 29, 2020



Using similar strategies, two gas commercials that came out in 1936 use comparable strategies, cutting out much of the excess and penetrating straight to the message. In both cases, audience attention is drawn directly to the simple word, “Gas” and when coupled by the similarly obvious messages, the intent is quite clear. The posters are extremely effective in conveying their intention and purpose.

Comments

  1. Ryan QuirkeJanuary 30, 2020 at 5:09 PM

    I agree with your point on how all three posters are direct and straight the point with a minimal amount of words. They are effective in emphasizing their intent by making the words milk and gas larger than the other words. I find it interesting how all three posters are advertising things that have a negative impact on the environment. Cows are used for milk and release methane gas in the environment by burping and cows require a large amount of land. Around fifty percent of America is used for agriculture and cows take up a mass majority of this land. Gasoline, of course, causes air pollution.

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