Tarter Source

After World War I, general circulation magazines dropped the theme of reform that made publications like McClures so popular and picked up on the culture of consumerism.

That reform effort was led by none other than Samuel Sidney McClure who “swept through Knox in a whirl and went on in a blaze of business acumen and progressive zeal to help change the country for the better,” wrote David Amor, a member of the Knox College faculty in 2003.

Magazines like The Saturday Evening Post now took center stage. With all those Norman Rockwell covers, the Post became a fixture in homes across the country.

Advertisers were now able to reach millions of consumers. “Business had become America’s secular religion, thanks to advertising,” noted the EyeWitness to History website.

On the Stuff Nobody Cares About website, there’s a fascinating examination of 50 advertisements from the Feb. 8, 1947 issue of the Post. Those ads reveal some of the many changes that have occurred in the intervening 77 years. While styles and technology have changed, the sentiment really hasn’t.

“Maybe advertising is not an accurate portrayal of what America is or ever was. But it shines a light on American dreams, living the good life and most of all consumerism,” noted the Stuff site.

Five ads promoted refrigeration. Companies like Gibson and Admiral touted home freezers to keep food cold (still important) while soft drinks showed they were part of the 40s scene just as they are today. Along with Seven-Up and Hires root beer, you had the now-forgotten Spur cola made by Canada Dry. (Spurt might have been better but it probably wouldn’t have mattered.)

A couple of railroad ads testified to the availability of train service at the time but the open road was beckoning with ads for Dodge trucks, Studebaker, Texaco and Gulf.

The Gulf ad features two guys lounging by a tree with their car nearby while a daughter laces up skates to set forth on a frozen pond. Everything’s frozen including the scenic falls flowing into the pond. The caption reads: “Weather like this isn’t nearly as hard on a car if you use Gulfpride.”

Along with the obligatory tobacco ads were a couple for pens: Scripto and Eberhard Faber.

Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell both got a boost. Bell Telephone acknowledged their founder (“He gave the world a voice”) while General Electric and Corning Glass saluted Edison in separate ads.

The Eureka vacuum company apparently came to the rescue of a young lady, seen relaxing on a couch under the headline “Me? I’m No Longer a Slave Girl!” Then there are the parents peering around the corner as teens dance up a storm in the living room in front of the grand Stromberg-Carlson radio. “Will your home be the best ‘dance spot’ in town?” read the headline. (And yes, the boys are wearing suits.)

Finally, there’s an ad that stands the test of time: Whitman’s candy for Valentine’s. Even the box remains the same.