The Emergence of Consumerism Reflected in Airline Advertising

American Airlines advertisment, Time, January 31, 1944, p. 13
United Airlines advertisement, The New Yorker, September 15, 1955, p. 167

The two images show the rise of air travel as a component in American life, as the emergence of the middle class, combined with the lowered cost of airfares made long-distance vacations a feasible option for many. The first ad, one for American Airlines from 1944, contains no exhortations to buy or consume, rather advertising American’s contribution to society (and by extension, the war effort). The emphasis on such aspects as “saving transportation time and countless man-hours” and “expediting our nation’s work” seems to be a way of mentioning that American is doing their part by saving time and material as all Americans should be doing during the war. By contrast, the United ad of twelve years later presents air travel as a relatively affordable component of the middle-class lifestyle. The range of the family vacation had expanded dramatically with the emergence of an abundance of well-paying middle-class jobs that enabled families to either drive (with their new cars) all over the country, and to fly all over the world. Far-away Hawaii, at this point still a territory, is now a part of the mainstream American vacation scene. And while advertised as affordable, the advertisement is filled with language and imagery that connotes luxury and abundance, from the fruit that the model is holding, to in-air service that includes a “club-like…cabin,” “pre-dinner cocktails” and “superb full-course meals.” Where studious saving had been encouraged, now it was the full-fledged embrace of consumerism that was being pushed by the airlines. The high average standard of living at the time is reflected in the portrayal of easy access to items and services most often associated with the rich.