The Good Old Fifties

The ad agencies work produced anxious, distressed and dissatisfied consumer ideologies in women and men for the purpose of capital gain. If we look at advertising from the fifties compared to present day we aesthetically notice how the textual technique has varied and changed. Advertisements in the fifties were commonly found to put the price of the product in as part of the ad. Today this is rarely the approach, as consumers don't want to be reminded of how much money they spend unnecessarily. The fifties was also an era of family perfection, in that, each member of the family had their place, mother as caretaker, father as the breadwinner.

Sexual appeal was also being used for the first time with men and women. Advertisers were encouraging a sense of liberation among women through their sexuality. We notice that the main idea is still fully implemented, that we are our appearances and our appearances are never good enough, therefor we must supplement that with the consumption of commodities. Advertisers have instilled this ideology by linking it to 'false symbolism'. (Leiss, William, Kline, Stephen, Jhally, Sut. 1990. Page 18)

 

Lisa Ramdial
Student,
Communication Studies Program, Social Science Division,
York University, Toronto