Appeal of the Automobile with Relation to World and Domestic Affairs

These automobile advertisements both found in Time magazines, the Oldsmobile from January 1942 and the Mercury from July 1953, demonstrate the change in value and appeal of cars. The ad from WWII emphasizes technology and practicality, while the ad from 1953 emphasizes domestic life and luxury; the Oldsmobile is advanced and likened to a B-19 jet used in war, while the Mercury is portrayed as a harmonious, comfortable family car. Within the texts of both ads attention is drawn to the ease with which the cars can be driven. The Mercury associates ease with harmony and balance which speaks to Cold War hopes for peace and civil relations between the US and the Soviets, and the Oldsmobile associates ease with less energy exertion, speed, and innovation. The depictions also indicate contemporary notions of family and the role of females. In the Oldsmobile ad from WWII the man away at war, flying the B-19, is like the woman at home driving the B-44; both the plane and car are smooth rides but the choice to use a woman demonstrating the lack of clutch and shifting of gears expresses the opinion that she has it easy. The illustration used by Mercury depicts the smiling faces of mother, father, and child; they are meant to represent the perfect, happy family, they are meant to make the audience jump on the bandwagon. The fifties were an era of consumerism; Americans had money to spend, appealing to familial needs and the home was a good way to pull in the average customer. During wartime excess was dismissed, everything and anything that “Uncle Sam” needed he got; the text in the bottom right corner of the ad expresses this practice. “Building cars in only limited quantities, and only with facilities not now needed for defense.” These ads demonstrate the difference in what society found appealing and of interest at the perspective times. It’s intriguing to see the reworking of ad concepts for the same product from year to year depending on contemporary world and domestic affairs.

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