From Rationing To Prosperity
By Willy R. Wilkerson III. Excerpt from the book 'All-American Ads of the 40s', edited by Jim Heimann
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The military might of the U.S. would have foundered without the aid of War Bonds. To help promote the war effort, the film industry, which had provided entertainment for the past three decades, also went to war. While Lockheed and Martin rolled out fighter planes and bombers, the film industry retooled to produce propaganda films instead, of features. Filmmakers like Frank Capra, known for the movie Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, spearheaded the propaganda war with his series Why We Fight. Pathé newsreels that ran before films in movie theaters were the six o'clock evening news of the 1940s. Movie stars traded makeup for uniforms either to sell War Bonds or to join the ranks. USO tours, of which Bob Hope was the supreme master of ceremonies, brought much needed entertainment and a boost in morale to the troops.
The recording industry had much to boast about. Frank Sinatra crooned his way to the top of the Hit Parade during the war and Glenn Miller had an entire nation dancing. In 1942, Miller was presented with the first gold record for selling a million copies of "Chattanooga Choo-Choo."
Many celebrities who wore the uniform, such as Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable, came back after the war. Others, like Carol Lombard, Leslie Howard and Glenn Miller, did not.
At home, food and gas rationing did not stop people from going out and having a good time. Despite blackouts and the problem of navigating dark streets, it was a different story in the nightclubs and restaurants in America. Business was booming.
The world was ushered into the Atomic Age in August, 1945, when the Allies dropped the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. And with the Japanese surrender effectively ending the war in the Pacific a month later, America's love affair with the car began in earnest. The resulting jubilation sent people into a frenzy of spending and driving. 21.4 million new cars were sold between 1946 and 1950. In 1949 production topped the five million mark for the first time. While 222,862 passenger cars were built in 1943, a staggering 2,148,699 were built in 1946 with General Motors selling the lion's share of 1,240,418.
By 1946, the automobile had become the symbol of American freedom and independence. This new-found expression of freedom found Americans motoring from coast to coast after the war.
DeSoto advertised "Why Dream It?... Drive It!" Chevrolet said, "Get A Chevrolet And Get Away First!" "A Glorious Experience Awaits You!" boasted Cadillac. Buick, which had produced aircraft engines during the war, said of its 1946 model, "It's Big, It's Beautiful - It's Buick."
Page 1 2 3 4 5
Page 1 2 3 4 5
The military might of the U.S. would have foundered without the aid of War Bonds. To help promote the war effort, the film industry, which had provided entertainment for the past three decades, also went to war. While Lockheed and Martin rolled out fighter planes and bombers, the film industry retooled to produce propaganda films instead, of features. Filmmakers like Frank Capra, known for the movie Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, spearheaded the propaganda war with his series Why We Fight. Pathé newsreels that ran before films in movie theaters were the six o'clock evening news of the 1940s. Movie stars traded makeup for uniforms either to sell War Bonds or to join the ranks. USO tours, of which Bob Hope was the supreme master of ceremonies, brought much needed entertainment and a boost in morale to the troops.
The recording industry had much to boast about. Frank Sinatra crooned his way to the top of the Hit Parade during the war and Glenn Miller had an entire nation dancing. In 1942, Miller was presented with the first gold record for selling a million copies of "Chattanooga Choo-Choo."
Many celebrities who wore the uniform, such as Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable, came back after the war. Others, like Carol Lombard, Leslie Howard and Glenn Miller, did not.
At home, food and gas rationing did not stop people from going out and having a good time. Despite blackouts and the problem of navigating dark streets, it was a different story in the nightclubs and restaurants in America. Business was booming.
The world was ushered into the Atomic Age in August, 1945, when the Allies dropped the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. And with the Japanese surrender effectively ending the war in the Pacific a month later, America's love affair with the car began in earnest. The resulting jubilation sent people into a frenzy of spending and driving. 21.4 million new cars were sold between 1946 and 1950. In 1949 production topped the five million mark for the first time. While 222,862 passenger cars were built in 1943, a staggering 2,148,699 were built in 1946 with General Motors selling the lion's share of 1,240,418.
By 1946, the automobile had become the symbol of American freedom and independence. This new-found expression of freedom found Americans motoring from coast to coast after the war.
DeSoto advertised "Why Dream It?... Drive It!" Chevrolet said, "Get A Chevrolet And Get Away First!" "A Glorious Experience Awaits You!" boasted Cadillac. Buick, which had produced aircraft engines during the war, said of its 1946 model, "It's Big, It's Beautiful - It's Buick."
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