Life Magazine- November 1981, Pg36-7
https://wesfiles.wesleyan.edu/home/jcohencole/web/Cold-War-Media/Life%20Magazine_November8%201981_Pg36.jpg
Life Magazine- November 1971, Pg.2
https://wesfiles.wesleyan.edu/home/jcohencole/web/Cold-War-Media/Life%20Magazine_November5_1971_Pg2_pt2.jpg
What I originally found interesting about these two ads for Amtrak is there wildly different approaches to marketing. In the ad in 1971, the ad is primarily based in text and is trying to explain what exactly the purpose of Amtrak is. Similar to the older 50s era ads, this ad attempts to explain why Amtrak is a necessary industry, and why it will improve the American way of life. With airline travel becoming more profitable, ground transportation attempted to compete with it. Boasting improved food service, fare schedules, and customer service, Amtrak is truly trying to prove that they’re “making the trains worth traveling again.”
In the 1981 ad, the tactics have changed dramatically. Instead of a text based ad, the advertisement encompasses two full color pages and is only one giant picture. Their slogan has changed as well, now reading “This time why not see America at see level?” The tactic has shifted from competition with the airline industry to a differentiation from it. Rather than boasting itself as an efficient method of transportation, Amtrak emphasizes the leisure involved in its travels. Air travel has won out in terms of efficiency, thus Amtrak has tried to reinvent itself as a unique travel opportunity. This keeps in step with public opinion in the 80s that shifted to a strong need for leisure and vacation in daily life. Amtrak tried to follow this trend by reinventing its marketing campaign to appeal to these leisure seekers.
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