Advertising in Wartime

Advertisement has always been a good way to sell a product. For example, you are sitting at home watching t.v. and you see a commercial for McDonalds. Suddenly you are craving that meal from McDonalds because they have appealed to you and won you over.
Advertisers took advantage of the war situation to sell their products. In the reading packet one toothpaste company used the ongoing war for publicity of their product.
"You're working on the home front- backing our heroes on the battle front. But when your days stint is done- it's time for relaxation, for fun, for dates, and romance....Few can claim real beauty, but they all know how to smile!"
This advertisement definitely appealed to the women waiting for their husbands to come home for war. The toothpaste company was able to appeal to a large number of people by doing so. Advertisement will always be the best way to sell a product.

And Don't Forget to Smile

In the packet What did you do for Freedom? there are a series of articles stressing that women that are in the work force during the war remain in their best behavior and appearance. The notion that women seemed more masculine (explained by Maureen Honey) was readjusted during war time and women were required to keep up their image, health, and personality. This was supposed to keep them more feminine. Books were offered to women that were supposed to help them on their "problem days." Since women were taking on the role of the men they couldn't afford to take a couple of days off each month because of cramps. The Kotex advertisement was a quiz/advise given to women that was supposed to keep them free from cramps and as healthy as possible.

"Jut off the press--easy-to-read, 24-page booklet "That Day Is Here Again." Gives the complete list of do's and don'ts for a war worker's "problem days."

During the war many messages were sent out to women in the workforce and women in general. In order to be seen as "doing your best" and "the good girl waiting for her soldier at home," there where many guidelines and expectations to be fulfilled.

Deprivation

The book "Wartime" by Paul Fussell describes what the world endured during WWII. The chapter entitled "Deprivation" discusses the sacrifices made by citizens around the world. Necessities were very hard to come by and luxuries were almost non-existent. People saw material things as a sign of wealth and they were no longer able to buy things at their free will.

"Visible possession and conspicuous consumption had been the traditional signals
of personal distinction and even satisfactoriness in America, and now to be
told by the government that one could not buy and exhibit a new car or wear
new shoes or silk stockings or have a new extension phone installed was a heavy
blow to the psyche."

The government started rationing all goods including gasoline, food, and appliances to ensure that everyone would have. A lot of these things were no longer produced to save money and supplies for the war. The nation knew it was their duty to conserve goods and resources to help supply the troops with the supplies they needed to fight the war and keep our country safe and free. The British natives had a worst time than Americans because a lot of their food and supplies were imported from overseas and the ships carrying their supplies were blown up during their journey. Their necessities were deficient and they often were forced to eat rabbit, cat, and dog to survive.

Selling the American Dream

In the article "Opportunity!" W.J. Weir speaks about the need to spread and advertise the American dream. Weir insists that this is the way to win the war. Weir states

"It takes spirit - fighting spirit. Not alone in the armed forces but in every
last citizen, no matter how far behind the front lines he happens to be.
Fighting spirit that unites. Fighting spirit that creates purpose. Fighting
spirit that drives and urges and makes of hard work and sacrifice a sacred
privilege."

Weir explains that if Americans understand what the American way of life means that they will then develop the spirit that is necessary to win the war. Weir states "we have victory to sell" meaning that in order for us to win the war Americans have to believe that we have the power to win.

The influence of Rosie the Riveter

The symbol of Rosie the Riveter was meant to influence women to go out into the workforce and work for our country while the men are over seas. This was a great way to get women into the workforce but the problem arose when the men were coming home and the women had to go back into the home. Women did not want to give up their jobs to men. This concept is explained in "Creating Rosie the Riveter" honey explains

"Finally women played the important role of preservers of peacetime virtues
and family life, which came to be equated with security stability and
prosperity. in addition to their courage and strength, they emerged as
caretakers of national ideals and spiritual guides for the family. Having
dramatized threats to their well being in order to inspire service to their
country."

Women were finally being fulfilled on a professional level and now they are being told that they have to go back into the home. The government was telling women that it was their responsibility to go out into the workforce to provide for their family. Women had security and power. They were independent which gave them strength. Now these women wanted to continue working but the amount of jobs available to women once the men came home was very small.

Advertisements That We Will Never See Again

My blog this week is about this image and how it relates to the war effort during world war two. Today for the Iraq War and Terrorism in general, images like this do not exist. Reasons for this include the U.S. being much more politically correct than it was fifty years ago and the fact that we are told not to hate one certain group of people. Images like this were posted and advertised all over during world war two and were strong messages of who the enemy was. I do not think we will ever see this kind of advertisement again in our world instead we have seen advertisements such as buying SUV's helps fund terrorism which i think does not get a message across to anyone in this country. This was a different time in our country where people got away with speaking stereotypically and spewing out racism. I think that if the Japanese attacked us today, we would not see this kind of advertisement, there would be no interment camps and we would be told that not every Japanese person hates America.

Rosie the Riveter

The role of women was significantly changed with the mobilization of women into the workforce during WWII. Women were needed to fill men's jobs while they were off fighting the war. They were trained for free to perform jobs in shipyards and factories.

According to Maureen Honey:

"The campaign to attract women into war production was part of a drive to weld the home front into an economic army, well disciplined, highly motivated by patriotism, and willing to make sacrifices for the good of American soldiers. This overriding propaganda goal subsumed the campaign to recruit women and largely shaped its direction: this was a goal, moreover, for which traditional ideas about women were well suited."

In the film "Rosie the Riveter" it was astounding to see how propaganda was helped motivate women to enter the workforce, yet once the war was over it promoted the role of the homemaker. The woman was supposed to give the soldier, who fought for the good of the country his job back. It was the era of the feminine mystique where the role of the homemaker and caretaker was more important. This was unfortunate because many of the women grew accustomed to the higher wages and steady work and due to lack of work, could not find jobs. The role of the feminine woman is still present today.

Rosie the Riveter

This video was a good one because in showed good examples of women's roles during WWII. Perhaps thanks to WWII, women started working outside their homes. There's always that stereotyping against women not being able to do a man's job. During the war however, women proved men wrong because they were needed to work. They even formed groups together and got a long, as well as helped each other. The propaganda that was used before the war influenced women to work like poster advertisements, but after the war when the men came back to take back their positions women felt the loss. It was interesting also how the opposite advertisements were used against women leaving their children home and how it affected their children psychologically and emotionally because they needed their moms. They just simply weren't needed anymore. This shows a lot how propaganda affected Americans lives.

Rosie The Riveter and Women's Roles in WWII

It was in World War II when women started to gain a much larger role as human beings. They became more than housewives. They became workers as well. As the men were going off to fight the war, people were needed to take their jobs and help with the war effort in producing weapons and making sure that production didn't sufferr because of the lack of men. This is where women came in. They began to work. They began to feel needed. They liked this. They liked being out of the house and working in factories, having a real job and punching in and out of work everyday. They felt a sense of pride and need for the first times in their lifes and it felt good to them. But it was all gone with a snap of the fingers. The war was over and the women went back to being housewives while the men were given their jobs back.

It was this that upset the women. They were shown the idea of Rosie the Riveter. They were shown the idea of being a working and able women who didn't have to be a housewife and they liked that. They wanted to work and be equal with men but once the men came back, Rosie the Riveter was out the door and the housewives came walking right back in. It was a case of everything going back to normal and for the women, going back to normal was the one thing they didn't want to do, and, if they were doing a good enough job, nor they shouldn't have had to either. This is what eventually led to the beginning of the Feminine Mystique.

Rosie the Riveter (The Movie)

Rosie The Riveter (The Movie)

When America finally entered WWII in 1941, there was a labor shortage. Factories and industrial jobs were in dire need of labor.

The manufacturing plants, especially the ones producing ships, bullets and other items essential to the war lacked the usual male labor they had needed. All the able bodied men were being shipped off to the Pacific and Europe, the United States responded to this labor shortage with a massive “advertising” campaign (Some would say a massive campaign of mass persuasion and propaganda)

This campaign consisted of various posters, flyers, movies and radio ads by any means that could be used to reach a whole new field of laborers; women and minorities.

The movie "Rosie The Riveter" documents from both archival footage and first hand accounts the stories of these women, of “Rosie.”

The film then goes on to show how after the war ended; the need for female workers did too. The ads and “propaganda” campaigns now focused on returning the women to their “place,” the domestic sphere. This was the beginning of the “feminine mystique” or the ideal woman, the woman who obeys and lives to serve her husband. The movie itself was made by feminists during the 1970’s feminist movement. The movie itself was used as propaganda by feminist groups to argue for female workers, and for an equal wage for women.

The War's Mistakes

"The loser of this war will be the side that makes the greatest blunders." Fussell quotes Hitler in saying this at the end of chapter two in Wartime. Throughout the chapter, Fussell makes it clear as to how inaccurate American and British air strikes were, with many not only missing their intended targets, but killing and wounding American ground troops. Although military officials were prevy to this information, about how grossly unsuccessful the air raids were doing, I am sure the American public had no knowledge of these failures; and I am sure that they were aware of the bombings that had gone successfully.

Bob's Things

The most interesting quote that caught my eye in this article was when the woman said, "No use trying to fool myself that I "gave" my son." A lot of women felt that they sacrificed their sons and husbands but the advertiser is saying that's not really the truth. "He went" therefore the women still haven't given anything to their country. Not only do they owe the country the support of buying bonds, but they owe it to their sons. They have made the ultimate sacrifice and if they don't buy war bonds, they aren't investing in the U.S. or their sons. I think it's so wrong of advertisers to go after mothers and make them feel guilty for not buying war bonds. They may not be able to afford them and saying that they didn't give their sons or husbands is also wrong. If giving up you son is not the ultimate sacrifice then I don't know what is.