During a time of ecomonic downfall, radio would take center stage and change the lives of many. “Radio, moreover, was in a utopian ohase, and it’s destiny seemed to be the uplift of the human condition, not selling toothpaste (86).” During this time in history, it seemed like a shot in the dark that radio could be an effective advertising platform. However, the discovery of Amos ‘n’ Andy sitcom was going to revolutionize the radio industry while capturing the attention of many. Radio had provided cultural developments of Amercian advertising during the 1930’s.
1.Radio would be that outlet that people would turn to for an espace during the Great Depression. Radio became the new mass media that brought people together while providing enterntainment, drama and suspense. “During the height of the Amos ‘n’ Andy craze, that happened every day, and consequently the 7 p.m. time slot, according to reports, began to influence the schedule of everything (90).” Many businesses such as hotels, restaurants and move theaters would broadcast the segment. Amos ‘n’ Andy provided great entertainment that successfully used advertising which in turn brought in more sales. “The power of Amos ‘n’ Andy- an enterainment offering- to bring in giant audiences willing to hear advertising (92).”
Radio
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Radio just like the Superbowl, had a way of getting millions of people together to tune in at one particular time. The radio, along with the Superbowl, contain both entertainment/ talent while successfully throwing advertising to consumers. Both the radio and Superbowl profit from companies that provide advertising which, in turn, boosts sales for that company. Radio advertisments were used to target mainly women, whereas, Superbowl ads target both men and women. A major difference between Radio and Superbowl is the news coverage. Radio, at any point, provides news stories while the Superbowl focuses on a game. Radios competition was newspapers while the Superbowls was social media
Television has always been an industry whose profit has always been gained through ads. But in chapter 2 of Jason Mittell’s book, Television and American Culture, Mittell argues that the rise of the profit-driven advertising television model can be traced back through American television history, and that the rise of the profit-driven advertising model of television actually helped to mold American culture both from a historical standpoint and from a social standpoint.
Thus, the sixties triggered not only political change but also social and cultural reformations. Advertisers realized that they shou...
According to Steve Craig in Signs of Life in the USA, the economic structure of the television industry has a direct effect on the placement and content of all television programs and commercials. Craig is a professor in the department of radio, television, and film at the University of North Texas, Craig has written widely on television, radio history, and gender and media. His most recent book is Out of the Dark: A History of Radio and Rural America (2009). Craig talks about the analysis of four different television commercial, showing how advertisers carefully craft their ads to appeal, respectively, to male and female consumers. The gendered patterns in advertising that Craig outlines in his essay still exist today, in commercials of how a men and women are portrayed.
The advertising industry has always played a role in consumerism, but by the 1960’s its role was changing as the advertising structure and order that was normally found was being replaced with nonconformity. The simple structure of advertising showing a single picture no longer evoked the emotions advertisers were looking for, instead fast paced or out of the ordinary became the name of the game. This book delves into the idea that corporations played a major role in
Watching films from the Great Depression era today, we can see how people survived and made a living during the crisis. Everyone’s common goal was to find work and would do whatever they could to be able to provide for their families and themselves. Work could be very demanding when trying to make a pretty penny. Some ways people made a living was by working in a factory, as shown in Chaplin’s Modern Times, or in a more dangerous way of the ...
The radio has had a huge impact on bringing information to the public about war and other government issues. Advertising and broadcasting on the airwaves was a major step in bringing war propaganda to a level where people could be easily touched nationally. Broadcasting around the clock was being offered everywhere. Before there was television people relied on the radio as a way to be entertained, the means of finding out what was going on in the world, and much more. During the World War II time period, 90 percent of American families owned a radio, and it was a part of daily life. So it was an obvious means of spreading war propaganda. During this time period, propaganda was spread throughout the radio by means of news programs, public affairs broadcasts, as well as through Hollywood and the mainstream. The average person had not even graduated high school at the time, and the average reading level of the American was somewhat low. The radio made it possible for stories and news to be delivered to everyone in plain simple English. The radio served as a medium that provided a sense of national community. Although it took time, the radio eventually rallied people together to back up the American war effort.
The author of this book Bruce Barton was a partner in a successful advertising firm during the 1920’s. This was a time when the industry of advertising was under going some major changes. These changes had a lot to do with a number of factors the first of which being the post war prosperity this meant people had more money than they ever had before. Another one of these factors had to do with the high number of teens who were now attending high school, this proved to be important because it created a whole other market which hadn’t existed before. One more factor was the advances made in transportation and communication, these advances allowed goods, people, and information to travel long distances relatively quickly intern allowing companies to grow large enough to spread their services nationally. Still another important factor was the invention of financing, this allowed people to pay for durable objects (large objects that would last a couple of years) with affordable installments or payments. But the biggest changes were the actual advertising practices themselves, many of which were pioneered by Barton and his associates, and didn’t become norms in advertising until after the release of Bartons book “The Man Nobody Knows” in 1924. This book served not only as a manual on how to advertise more affectively but also as an example of good advertising itself.
In the 1930s, the United States was recovering from the Great Depression, and the urban audience needed products that would bring comfort and get-away opportunities. At the same time, radio broadcasting became more common in the country, bringing affordable entertainment to the public. In one account, ordinary southerners would listen to the radio on Saturday night as “there wasn’t nothing else doing.” Producers travelled in the South, including the Appalachian region, to record the rich, local, and traditional mus...
Wireless communication across the country was something no one ever imagined. The creating of the commercial radio in 1920, created a feeling of belonging to many citizens of the United States. Starting off as a hobby for amateurs, radio quickly expanded. With the creation of NBC, and emerging radio stars like Ernie Hare and Billy Jones radio, families tuned in on a daily basis. Music was brought to lower income families who couldn’t afford to buy a piano. As well as streaming music, radio provided advertising outlets. Promotions regarding cigarettes, automobiles, and soap
Advertisements would soon, also, become a major factor in mass media and development in America during the early 1900’s. Advertising became one Americas stepping stones to put the power of media into their control. This provided political parties, ...
The arts played a significant role in the Great Depression- not only as a means of escapism for some people, but also a psychological and ideological role that provided inspiration and optimism in a time of severe doubt and fear. For example, film provided an escape for a couple of hours, but also portrayed success during this time period. Many films focused on social realities of the time period, so that people could relate to these films. Films gave images of hope and success because they portrayed ordinary people, such as a girl winning a role in a play, or a man and a woman randomly meeting and falling in love. Andrew Bergman explains the effect of these films in his article Hollywood and the Great Depressi...
Buying the same stuff, listening to the same music, and even using the same slang terms. Many people across the United States and even across the world were becoming more and more similar in the way they talked and the purchases they made. This could partially be accredited to the radio. This simple device was revolutionizing the nation’s economy. The value of radio sales in the U.S. jumped from $60 million in 1922 to almost $850 million in 1929. Popular network programs such as “Amos ‘n’ Andy” and “the Philco hour” provided an effective ...
Sut Jhally, a professor at the university of Massachusetts of whom won the distinguished teacher award, wrote in his essay “ Advertising at the Edge of the Apocalypse” that : 20th century advertising - the most powerful propaganda in human history - will destroy the world as we know it. The survival of the human race will depend upon our ability to minimize the harmful effects of Advertising. These effects will have lasting impacts on our culture, joy, and future.
During the 19th and 20th century, America –mostly white collar, middle class Americans- saw a great increase in salaries and a huge rise in mass production which paved the way for the modern American consumerism which we know today. The advertising scene saw a dramatic boost during that period and tried to latch on to this growing pool of emerging consumers. Although only limited to print, advertising during this pivotal period showed panache and reflected American society
Advertising in the 50s was primarily focused on the return of traditional family values, and portraying the consumer’s role in society’s prestige. But, during the recession of 1959 to 1961, the time was ripe for some innovation in the advertising industry. Surly enough, a single ad appeared that changed the course of advertising history. The Volkswagen Beetle, a seemingly ugly car with all odds against it in the American market of huge, tail-finned vehicles of the 1950s, surprisingly prospered. The advertisement campaign broke all previous rules of using wide-angle photography, and beautiful women. These advertisements stole the American hearts with their wit and honesty.