Advertising In The 1920s

Movies were becoming one of the biggest businesses during the 1920s and most people would spend their leisure time going to the theatre to watch the silent films. They were becoming huge in the popular culture and Hollywood was the place to be. Roughly by 1922, 40 million people a year in attendance over the entire country for the movie theatres and in 1930 over 100 million people would attend the movies every year. By 1927, the movie industry became the fourth largest industry in the country. “The Great Train Robbery” which was released in 1903 was the beginning of the film industry and would eventually change everything. “Jazz Singer” was the first movie that had synchronized sounds throughout the entire film. The popular genres during this decade were western,

The 1920s were a time of advancement and prosperity in America. The end of the first world war caused America’s economy to boom resulting in a large increase in industrial output and credit. In addition to this, the invention of the assembly line made the automobile much easier to produce making it possible for most middle class families in the United States to be able to afford one which changed the concept of transportation. Modern advertising caused Americans to desire stuff that they didn’t necessarily need. Working conditions at this time were still poor but there were major improvements from the way it was at the beginning of the century. Due to welfare capitalism workers were much less inclined to strike which also helped the booming

Nevertheless, people were able to recover quickly and still enjoy the positive side of the radio for entertainment purposes. The radio was very successful and very popular during the 1920’s because it was able to provide people with a new entertainment experience.

After the analysis and comparison of the six selected advertisements, it is time to think about the question what the differences reveal about the image of women in advertisements. Did the role of women really change here, too? This question cannot be answered with a simple Yes or No. On the first look the modern advertisements seem to focus on positive feelings, while the advertisements of the 1950s, in contrast, evoke rather negative emotions. This is demonstrated especially on the example of the shampoo and the anti-aging cream advertisement. However, their actual statements are quite similar: the anti-aging ads suggest that a woman should look younger than her age if she wants

The look of the standard advertisement changed in the 1900s with the addition of four-color front and back covers and up to two color interiors. Magazines were exploding with color thanks to agencies like Calkins & Holden, founded by Earnest Elmo Calkins as the first agency to provide “copy, design, space brokerage, and media planning,” (Sivulka 108). An online summary of “The Business of Advertising” written by Earnest Calkins himself states, “Notably, he devised a theory of ‘consumer engineering’ stating that effective advertisements and designs could create an artificial demand for a product,” (MIT.edu Online). The agency changed the way advertisements were made and seen by customers, Calkin did this by hiring artists and utilizing personal

The 1920’s followed World War I. During the war, the United States had suffered very few casualties and its economy did not suffer like other nations had. This enabled it to experienced an economic boom: Higher sales, productivity, and wages, increasing demand for new products for consumers, and greater profits for corporations and businesses. This paved the way for economic developments during the 1920’s, such as buying on margin in the stock market and buying on credit, that caused the economy of the United States to enter a bull market. During this time, a new culture that centered around free expression also formed. This led to developments in art and entertainment like the creation of the symbol of the flapper and the popularization of

The 1920’s brought mass culture to almost everyone through radio, movies, advertising, sports, cars, and the influence of Hollywood. These influences sold a new way of life to the people and created demands for things so that consumers felt as if they needed these products to succeed in life. For example, Listerine mouth wash was taken from an antiseptic into something that should be used in every home. The advertising for this product would show sad people with unsuccessful love lives due to bad breath, though with the help of Listerine they could find love; it was made into an essential for having romantic love. Though, these products were mainly targeted and applicable to the white consumer who had the ability and desire to move upward in status, unlike many immigrants and people of color who did not have that luxury. Overall, the wave of advertising and mass culture brought the United States a new model of life that was dependent on consumerism and is a significant concept to the image of the “roaring”

The twenties saw tons of changes in mindset and showed everyone in the world that nothing was impossible if you put your mind to it. Seemingly impossible feats were accomplished in the twenties like the first ever liquid fueled rocket launch and the invention of a miracle drug. But those were not the only things that were happening then. Fashion was changing, it was more acceptable for women to show skin. Rules changed, the 18th amendment made the drinking of beer illegal, sparking the widespread desire to do just that. And the movie world was flipped upside down, leaving the first ever cartoon synchronised with sound. All of these changes had big

     The technology and science during the twenties was very important. Many new ideas and inventions were introduced to Americans that influenced their lives. Henry fords automobile changed American life. Ford wanted to “democratize the automobile”. He wanted to everyone to be able to afford an automobile and have one. To help this he paid his workers five dollars a day, for doing this he was known as the friend of the worker. Ford also lowered the price of his cars. The model t ford became the “family pet of the nation” (Gales research, 1998). By 1929, 23.1 million passenger cars were in use in the United States. The privacy and mobility offered by the car would transform the Americans lived. The spread of technology affected consumerism. The United States economy went through a steady growth and expansion during this time. The radio became very popular in the twenties. By 1922, 3 million Americans households had radios. Many new electric appliances such as: vacuum cleaners, toasters, washing machines, televisions and refrigerators were introduced. These appliances helped the American housewife. Women became America’s greatest consumer. People started going to see motion pictures. The first movies were called silent screens.

(Williams). Advertising changed tremendously throughout the 1920’s and advertisers began to understand the concept of consumerism. Appealing to the audience through slogans, brands, and memorable pictures became a huge

Due to advances in technology, significant changes in advertising appeared in the 1920’s. In the latter half of the 1900’s ads were illustrated in color for the first time and the layout of most magazines changed. Advertisements, in the 1910 Ladies’ Home Journal, were mostly located in the back of the magazine. Though due to the popularization of name brands, ads moved to the front as competition between products produced more revenue.

There are different types of ads. Each type of advertisement caters to a different audience. Ads in newspapers typically cater to older folks, whereas TV commercials cater to a younger audience. Time of day is another factor in advertising. Crisp, crunchy, vibrantly colored.

In the twenties, industry took a very big step. It nearly doubled. Not only did industry grow so did science, fads, laws, beliefs, arts, social lives changed, sports and the various different news from around the globe.

The 1920s began shortly after World War I when the United States and the allies defeated the Germans in 1918. The 1920’s became known as the “Roaring Twenties,” because of its changes in politics, economics, society, culture and foreign policy. Industries were making their products at an increasing rate; they became richer and more powerful than before World War I. The 1920s were also seen as a decade of contradiction, increase and decrease faith, great hope and great despair.

Technology played a vital part in helping America become the great economic and cultural success that it was during the 1920s. New advancements, new discoveries, and new inventions improved American lives in every imaginable way but not without a few negative side-effects. As mentioned earlier, the automobile really came into play during the 1920s by making traveling a common thing for anyone who could afford a car (Trueman, 2000). Henry Ford started the Ford Motor Company, which began to mass produce affordable automobiles known as the Model-T. Ford's Model-T car became such an irresistible success that by the end of the decade, there was almost one car per family in the United States (Bruce, 1981). The automobile seemed to give people a type of new freedom, but the automobile also proved to be a dangerous item in the hands of many irresponsible people who loved to drink during the 1920s. The washing machine, telephone, and radio made their arrival during the twenties. People were discovering life to be far easier than the previous generations because of technology, but they were also slowly being driven into an industrial nation. People were lured