So i decided to write this blog on the first gigantic book of times magazine that i could find. I randomly picked out part of the 1941 collection and was surprised to find maybe one food ad per issue. That's not to say that there weren't any food ads, though. One of the first pages I turned to once I opened the magazine collection was an ad for Swift's Premium Branded Lamb. It showed a few hunks of lamb branded with the label Swift's Premium with a woman at the bottom ordering the meat on her telephone, specifically noting that she wanted the branded logo lamb chop. The tag line at the bottom of the article read "the meat makes the meal." I was not surprised at all. American culture throughout the past and present has always had meat as its anchor course meal. It's not a meal if it doesn't have meat in it, definitely still a popular mindset among the people I know. I have no problem with it. In fact I often feel unsatisfied by a meal without meat in it. This ad makes me realize how deeply rooted meat is in our society. Along with this branded lamb was also an ad for Swift's Premium Branded Veal which was printed a few issues later. Likewise I ran across two Jones Little Sausage ads, one depicting a pig with a fork and knife hovering over a picture of the sausage package. That last one I found a little ironic. Aside from all the meat ads were ads for the familiar and still popular Campbell soups. Just like today, the ads offered a variety of vegetable soups, ranging from split pea to cream of mushroom. One of the ads showed a woman with a speech bubble that read "the kind I'd be proud to make myself." I ran across various adds for 5¢ Coca-cola fountain drinks (a real bargain nowadays) and one add for Canada Dry Water, still see that brand around in the stores. One tiny side advertisement for Vitamin D was boasting about how healthy milk was for your body; filled with Vitamin D among a plethora of other nutrients. One of the most striking ads I noticed was not actually a food ad but I feel it had relevance to the class because it was a Monsanto advertisement for rubber showing a gas mask; I also found this one ironic. The last few ads that I came across sparked my interest the most. The were ads sponsored by Portland's own newspaper, The Oregonian. These last ads were aimed specifically at promoting the northwest as a main supplier of delicious and nutritious fruits and nuts (specifically walnuts) as well as turkey. They sparked my interest the most because they were for me, personally, "close to home." That's one of the best methods of advertising if you ask me, but its a difficult aspect to promote. For more information on food and advertising, why not check out this article: Journal of Advertising Research.
Brennan, Ross, Barbara Czarnecka, Stephan Dahl, Lynne Eagle and Olga Mourouti. Regulation of Nutrition and Health Claims in Advertising. Journal of Advertising Research. Mar2008, Vol. 48 Issue 1, p57-70.
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2 comments:
i kknow people can order meat by phone, but why would you? id be afraid it could come out bad or rubbed up against a mail carrier. that ad seemed rather different than todays. the imaging is still the same, but the process is a little different.
Hmm...I had some trouble finding non-alcohol or cigarette ads, but I think I was just looking in the wrong kind of magazines. It looks like you had a fair variety of food ads!
You're absolutely right about meat in American meals. Just think of the phrase "meat and potatoes."
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