Undergraduate Publication:
American ideals reinforced through advertisements

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dc.contributor.authorHall, Molly
dc.creatorHall, Molly
dc.date.accessioned2016-09-06T19:44:18Z
dc.date.accessioned2021-04-14T15:26:06Z
dc.date.available2016-09-06T19:44:18Z
dc.date.available2021-04-14T15:26:06Z
dc.date.issued2016
dc.description.abstractThe economic and housing boom that followed World War II paved the way for America to become the consumer-driven economy that it is today. These booms also created competition among companies, therefore leading to the aggressive use of advertisements which reinforced certain “American” ideals in order to sell products. The Civil Rights Movement and Cold War tensions led Americans to question the characteristics that embodied the term “American,” while events such as the passing of the G.I. Bill and the start of the Baby Boom enforced certain societal ideals. Advertisements during the mid-twentieth century preyed upon the uncertainty among citizens pertaining to their American citizenship, and illustrated companies’ desire to appeal to a specifically white, middle-class audience. They emphasized the “American” ideals of happily married couples, healthy families and babies, and cleanliness. The “scientific” claims that many companies, such as Listerine, used in their advertisements have since been proven by modern science as false, however, the ads share an overarching theme of only targeting and portraying white, happy people. Ideals embedded by advertisements during the mid-twentieth century heavily influenced American stereotypes and served as distractions from difficult times. By using the uncertainty regarding the definition of “Americanism,” companies relied on images and the psychological aspects of their advertisements to sell their products. In the process, they defined the stereotypical qualities that embodied the term “American,” many of which still exist today.en_US
dc.description.undergraduateundergraduate
dc.format.extent7 pages
dc.format.extent309,262 bytes
dc.format.mediumapplication.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/11244.46/107
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.relation.requiresAdobe Acrobat Reader
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/*
dc.subjectDavid W. Levy Prize Finalisten_US
dc.subject.lcshAdvertising -- Social aspects -- United States -- History -- 20th centuryen_US
dc.subject.lcshUnited States -- Social conditions -- 1945-en_US
dc.titleAmerican ideals reinforced through advertisementsen_US
dc.typeDocument
dc.typetext
dspace.entity.typeUndPublication
ou.course.deptHISTen_US
ou.course.number1493
ou.facultySchumaker, Dr. Kathrynen_US
ou.teacherPearce, Dr. Matten_US

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