We'd like to start the conversation with some ads from our favorite automobile advertiser. Pierce Arrow cars advertised with art only, and said very little about the features or benefits of owning their cars. For them, the art was the ad, and as a marketer myself, my best guess is that they wanted to make an emotional connection between their cars and the people who saw them being advertised. And you have to admit: art depicting people enjoying the cars definitely makes a bold emotional statement.
If you take just one look at the Pierce Arrow advertisements, it'll become evident that they were intended for the wealthy upper class folks who lived in the lap of luxury. (Think first class passengers on the Titanic.) Well dressed ladies and gentlemen and their leisurely drives through the countryside, (or their shopping trips or their nights at the opera) are always given special emphasis, and in a few of them you can even see their chauffeur lurking in the background, either standing beside the open car door, or sitting quietly behind the wheel. These were cars sold with elegance in mind, and perhaps that's why they didn't need to go much further than to artistically depict that elegance.
Here are a couple of Pierce Arrow ads from 1909.
[Image source: http://www.magazineart.org]
Unfortunately, the Pierce Arrow company went out of business in 1938, but we can't help but wonder what their ads might have looked like if they were around today. (Perhaps social media would have given them an opportunity to bring back their art-focused ads. One can only speculate...)
As for some of the other car advertisements focusing almost exclusively on art, below is one from 1919. The car company being advertised is the Cole Motor Car Company, which had a considerably shorter run than Pierce Arrow, (Pierce Arrow was around for 37 years, whereas Cole was around for only 16 years--less than half of Pierce Arrow's lifespan.) According to Wikipedia, Cole Motors went out of business because there was a brief but severe recession, and hardly anyone was buying Cole Automobiles. They tried reducing their prices, and making new and improved models, but to no avail. Eventually, J. J. Cole, the owner of the company, decided to liquidate the company rather than risk his fortune by continuing.
Maybe the cars themselves weren't worth buying, especially during the economic setbacks that were going on then, but it can't be denied that the ads are also very artistic, and although they don't have the human component shown in Pierce Arrow ads, there is likewise emphasis on visuals over any lengthy explanations of features and benefits. There were, of course, many exceptions to this rule, as pragmatism was not entirely nonexistent in the minds of those who wanted to be sure that they were buying a good car, but the elitist social constructs of the turn of the 20th century was what made it possible for companies such as Pierce Arrow to sell their cars with nothing more than art. As we'll see in just a bit, this would no longer be possible, as the socioeconomic constructs shifted in favor of people who actually had to work for a living rather than simply inherit obscenely large sums.
[Image source: http://www.magazineart.org]
As can be seen in this advertisement, there is an emphasis on art, but if you look closely, you'll see that it says
"EXCLUSIVE DESIGNS - ADVANCED ENGINEERING
GREATER PERFORMANCE EFFICIENCY"
That's at least some explanation of the product, and while not being wordy enough to detract from the artwork, it does show an inclination towards practicality that Pierce Arrow ads simply don't have.
And as the century progressed, people lost massive fortunes in such cataclysmic events as WWI, and luxury or emotional appeal was no longer on people's minds. The Great Depression cemented this further, so the car companies would likely have had to double up their advertising efforts by telling people what they can get out of their car from a practical standpoint. Emotion alone was simply not enough, so inevitably you get ads like these ones from 1934 and 1936 respectively.
[Image source: http://www.magazineart.org]
Earlier, during the 1920s, this was still the prevailing attitude towards buying anything, as the feudal, elitist society of the early 1900s was on a rapid decline, and money was, for many, no longer a given. But there was still a pronounced emotional component in car advertising, and these ads clearly show a disinclination towards throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Emotion and practicality went hand in hand, and the result is a beautifully composed aesthetic where the words compliment the graphics.
[Image source: http://www.magazineart.org]
A lot of the above information is purely theoretical, but it can't be denied that historical shifts in political, social, economic, or other factors does have an effect on advertising, no matter what product is being advertised. However, what we can say with 100% certainty is that these shifts are to our benefit ultimately because they result in a variety of different aesthetic flavors that, as art lovers, we can look back on and enjoy for their visual appeal if for no other reason.
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If you liked this post, please visit our website, where you can get a $20 gift card, as well as a chance to win two FREE prints (a $200 value). This offer is only available to the first 50 email subscribers, so get yours today!
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