Advertising informs most decisions that consumers make in the marketplace. All choices between products are influenced by the marketing language and material that individuals consume consciously and subconsciously through the media. It is essential to note that the current trends in society influence the marketing decisions of companies. Marketers play on existing trends and social norms or create new ones to increase the appeal of their products. The goal of marketing is to create the illusion that the targeted consumer has a need that can only be filled by using a specific product. If the consumer is already aware of this need due to social conditioning, advertising encourages them to use a particular brand as the best remedy. An analysis of the marketing and advertising trends aimed at the modern woman in the 1920s demonstrates the ability of marketing and advertising to generate consumer culture.
Advertisers in the 1920s shaped the perception of the modern woman and marketed their products as the perfect accessories for this mythical woman. For instance, an advert for Easy Washer implies the traditional woman was saddled with tasks such as washing clothes that stood between her and modernity (Easy Washer. “Washwoman…Clubwoman. All in One Day”, 1928). The modern woman pictured in the advert is pictured lounging at the club with men playing golf in the background and a picture of the washing machine at her feet. Modernity, in this case, was presented as duality, the ability to fulfill the domestic requirements of washing and still maintain the façade of a golf club woman. According to this advert, the modern woman could sit in the club without anyone knowing that she was doing laundry just a few hours earlier. Thus, the Easy Washer machine solved the dilemma by taking over all the washing work and allowing the modern woman to be club ready by evening.
General Electric took a similar approach by promising transformation from slavery to freedom for women (General Electric. “You shall NOT enslave our WOMEN!”). The General Electric advert for ten home appliances lamented the enslavement of women by house chores. The modern woman needed the freedom that could only come from enlisting the help of the missing ten servants from General Electric. The advert listed the tasks that each servant would do to free the modern woman. Slavery had no place in modern times. The American Laundry Machinery Company went a step further in arguing that the modern woman’s time could be better spent on higher pursuits such as charity (American Laundry Machinery Company. “The New Pit and Pendulum,” 1925). However, house chores were holding these women back. Therefore, no purchase made more sense than sending it to the laundry so that the American Laundry Machinery Company would take care of it.
The arrival of the idea of the modern woman opened a new frontier of social anxiety for women about their personal appeal that marketers wasted no time capitalizing on. A 1928 advert for Lysol Disinfectant published in the Ladies Home Journal pictures two women gossiping behind a couple’s back, presumably about her appearance (Lysol Disinfectant. “She Looks Old Enough to be His Mother,” 1928). The woman allegedly looked older than the man, although she was younger. The modern woman could not take the chance of failing to keep up with her husband’s youthful appearance. If a woman used this product, she would not have to worry about this anymore. The social anxiety stemming from attractiveness or lack thereof was a significant selling point of this period. Woodbury Cold Cream rode the same wave with its campaign for the company’s skin products. Their advert contained a picture of a crowded room staring at one person out of focus (Woodbury Cold Cream. “Strangers’ Eyes Keen and Critical,” 1922). The message conveyed was the woman would not have to worry about failing this scrutiny if she used the advertised products.
In this period, the world was changing and there for the taking for any modern woman. Thus, it would be a tragedy for a woman not to fit in with her peers and get left behind. The advertisers picked on this need to fit in, amplified it, and presented their products as the perfect solution. For example, one advert presents a miserable young lady who cannot get married due to halitosis. The picture used is of a troubled woman. It promises transformation from a forever bridesmaid to a bride if she uses Listerine (Listerine. “Often a bridesmaid but never a bride,” 1928). The fear of belonging did not exist for women on one condition; they used the advertised products. A similar advert for hosiery claims that the company’s product will ensure that the eyes of everyone in the room follow the wearer (Real Silk. “Eyes Follow Her,” 1929). The woman in the image sits gingerly with her legs in the silk hosiery attached for evidence. Great personal appeal meant belonging for the modern woman. This belonging was inexplicably tied to the male approval they would receive from consuming these products.
One of the time-tested selling methods to women was speaking to their desirability as partners by nitpicking on their physical traits. A modern woman was desirable. However, this desirability was not a guarantee. She had to put in the work, use the right products, take immaculate care of her body, and cover up where necessary. This is the message Hinds, Honey & Almond Cream went for in their advert with a woman pictured fussing over her face aging faster than her shoulders (Hinds Honey & Almond Cream. “Why do faces grow old and shoulders stay young?” 1928). The advert promises to help the woman to stay youthful even on the face, which is exposed to the elements. Wear and tear were only a normal and acceptable thing for men because womanhood was tied to youth. In the same spirit, Spencer Corsets promised women that their body would never betray their age again as long as they purchased the corset from the company (Spencer Corsets. “Her face is young, but her figure betrays her age,” 1927). It was not enough to be youthful in the face. The body must also show this youth to remain desirable. Age was not attractive on a woman.
In conclusion, the method, message, and language used in the 1920 advertisements targeted at women were carefully crafted to capitalize on the trend of the desirability imposed on modern women. It encouraged all women to aspire to the modern lifestyle while laying out a clear path of consumerism as the answer. Although these adverts promised freedom, they still kept women in their place as the objects of desire for the male gaze, servants in the home, albeit with the assistance of machinery and accessories for their partners. Nonetheless, they still sold this semi-freedom as the next step in the evolution of womanhood into the brave new world of expanded rights and choice. The consumer culture was intended to sell more products under the guise of reaching out for this mythical modern womanhood. This theme is consistent throughout most of the adverts from this period. The ethics or lack thereof of this advertising notwithstanding, its effectiveness in appealing to the target market cannot be denied.
Work Cited
HST 206: Creating a Consumer Culture Through Advertising
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