In this study, global events such as social, economic, political, and cultural in the 1950s and 1960s are analyzed. The effects of these events on ads were evaluated with six selected advertisements.
The Second World War affected the whole world economically, politically, and socially. The war is over in 1945, and an improvement process begun all over the world. In the 1950s, the post-war economy had recovered in the world. Americans in particular were started to buy homes, cars, clothes, and goods to change their slow lifestyle. In the article “Economy in the 1950s” (2017), explores shared that in the 1950s, the general economy grew by 37%. By the end of the decade, the median American family had 30% more purchasing power than it originally did. Inflation remained minimal, partly due to Eisenhower’s efforts to balance the federal budget. Unemployment remained low at around 4.5%. Especially the car industry has grown a lot in Europe and America. In general, we can say that there is economic development all over the world and people are getting richer. People started to buy more goods, and this economic development increased firms’ willingness to sell more goods. Advertisers were eager to sell goods. This time advertisers had a more powerful tool than print ads: television. In the 1950s, the most subject of advertisements was cigarettes, whiskey, cars, and women figures. The 1960s were the continuation of the 1950s with economic and technological developments and advertising styles, so there are many similarities between these two decades. However, new wars started in the 1960s.
After this general evaluation, let’s see the special cases of decades. Ganzel (2007) shared that Elvis Presley released “Heartbreak Hotel”, the first of more than 170 hit songs (1956). NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Mercury project started to take the first Americans into space (1958). Fidel Castro established the first communist regime in the Western Hemisphere. The USA stopped diplomatic relations in 1961 (1959). Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president of the United States, the first Republican president in 20 years (1952).
Nelson Mandela, deputy president of the African National Congress (ANC), is arrested in South Africa for agitating against apartheid laws (1962). By 1964, the Viet Cong, the Communist guerrilla force, had 35,000 troops in South Vietnam. The United States sent more and more troops to fight the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese, with the number of US troops in Vietnam peaking at 543,000 in April 1969. Anti-war sentiment in the United States grows stronger as the troop numbers increase (1964-69). Apollo 11 landed on the moon. More than 100 million people watch on television around the world as U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong steps onto the surface (1969). Telstar, the first telecommunications satellite, goes into orbit carrying telephone, television and high-speed data signals. Two years later, the Tokyo Olympics became the first event broadcast live around the world via satellite (1962). The Berlin Wall is constructed to prevent East Berliners from defecting to the West (1961) (Ganzel, 2007).
Yardley 1967
Twiggy Lashes by Yardley of London, from Seventeen magazine, 1967.
We found the ad which is for Yardley in 1967 when Mod culture was high in Swinging London.
The fashion trend that Yardley helped promote seems to have been full of hopefulness and a sense of security, which I find refreshing living in a time when emaciation and extremism seem predominant in fashion.
The ad reflects the influences of the time period because Twiggy was one of the most popular models of the time, even now she is still a very famous model and icon for women in the world. She started modelling for Yardley in 1967, advertising Twiggy eyelashes and paint.
This ad was contemporary because in 1968, Yardley hired new model Olivia Hussey who is well known for the movie which is called Romeo and Juliet. She is elegant and beautiful but not as unique as Twiggy. The brand image for Yardley now is close to Olivia Hussey like classic, elegant and flowery, but for me, if I were an art director in Yardley, I want to use Twiggy image instead of Olivia Hussey. I can say, Twiggy is one of the unique models until now.
As I wrote above, If I were an art director for this ad, I would like to change the headline, body copy and layout. For the headline, it’s nothing special at all. The twiggy image gave people impacts but the headline. I think people would remember the image but not the headline. Also, for the layout, they would better move the image of the product to the right upper body copy.
Lucky (1956)
Photograph of Lucky’s ad, 1956
World War II was over in 1945. While economic difficulties continued to be experienced in some countries of the world in the 1950s, economic development was achieved in America. In the 1950s, while economic difficulties continued to be experienced in some parts of the world, the economic improvement was achieved in America. People started living in good economic conditions. The lifestyles of the Americans began to change, and they started buying homes, cars, and new clothes. Smoking advertisements were very common in the USA in the 1950s, which shows that the needs of people are changing. Because people went beyond meeting their essential needs and became interested in pleasurable products. The ad that I chose with this aspect reflects the conditions of the period.
The ad is contemporary to the period but cannot see beyond the time. Smoking ads were very common, and people did not find it odd. It was even argued that smoking was not harmful. However, it was later scientifically revealed that smoking causes lung cancer. Cigarette ads were forbidden on TV and radio in 1970.
When we criticize advertising technically, we can say that some of its aspects are strong. Using a white background and negative space, it manages to focus attention on the couple in the ad. Also, it attracts attention with its vibrant colours. It provides easy reading by using sans-serif fonts and tries to convey its message to the target audience in this way, but I would like to point out that there are many texts.
Alcoa Aluminum (1953)
Photograph of Alcoa Aluminum’s ad, 1953
The 1950s were the years when women were deprived of many rights. For example, if your husband was not a surety, you could not get a loan from a bank or attend some schools because of your gender. The reason why women are kept away from many jobs. They were considered the center of the home, which was their primary responsibility as caregivers (McLaughlin, 2014). This was also the era of the “happy homemaker.” For young mothers in the 1950s, domesticity was idealized in the media, and women were encouraged to stay at home if the family could afford it (Women’s Roles in the 1950s, (n.d).
The ad reflects the socio-cultural characteristics of the period. In the advertisement, opening the lid of the bottle is shown as a success of women. This ad shows where women are positioned in society. Advertising has the characteristics of the period when women were left in the background. It could not give a message ahead of its time.
The ad is designed to attract the attention of the audience on the woman. With this aspect, the product intended to be advertised remained in the background. Also, the negative space and the colour choice of the background manage to attract people’s attention on the woman. Even though the text part is very heavy, its placement is successful, so it looks simple and does not bother the audience. Sans serif typeface is used in the title, which makes the title very easy to read.
Michael M. Dogan, Yuka Yoshida
References
Economy in the 1950s. (2017). Exploros. Retrieved September 29, 2020 from https://www.exploros.com/summary/Economy-in-the-1950s#:~:text=The%20economy%20overall%20grew%20by,remained%20low%2C%20about%204.5%25.
Ganzel, B. (2007). World Events During the 1950s & 60s. Farming in the 1950s &1960s. Retrieved September 29, 2020 from https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe50s/worldevents_01.html
McLaughlin, K. (2014). 5 things women couldn’t do in the 1960s. CNN. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2014/08/07/living/sixties-women-5-things/index.html
[Photograph of Fiat’s ad]. (1965). Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15352827/advertising-the-1960s-40-excellent-car-ads-from-the-swinging-sixties/
[Photograph of Lucky’s ad]. (1956). Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/671247519455407737
[Photograph of Alcoa Aluminum’s ad]. (1953). Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://clickamericana.com/topics/culture-and-lifestyle/50-sexist-vintage-ads-so-bad-you-almost-wont-believe-they-were-real
[Photograph of Coca-Cola’s ad]. (1951). Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/30962316158300719/?nic_v2=1a3no9reT
[Photograph of Campbell’s ad]. (1969). Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/christianmontone/3911745375/
[Photograph of Yardley’s ad]. (1967). Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://inlovewithengland.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/yardley-ads-from-the-1960s/
The American Economy in 1951. (1952, May 24). THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY. Retrieved from https://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1952_4/21/the_american_economy_in_1951
Women’s Roles in the 1950s. (n.d). American Experience. Retrieved September 28, 2020, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-mrs-america-womens-roles-1950s/
