From Poodles To Presley
Americans Enter The Atomic Age. Exerpt from the book 'All-American Ads of the 50s' by Jim Heimann
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The atomic bomb changed everything. By 1950, Americans were slowly accepting the fact that something fundamentally different was going on in society. Despite the victories of World War II and a post-war prosperity that brought a rush of unheralded consumerism, atomic power had many Americans wondering what the future held. At the end of the summer in the year 1949, the explosion of a Russian atomic bomb confirmed that the United States was no longer the sole possessor of the mightiest nuclear device in the world and Americans responded in different ways. Some bought Geiger counters to mine for uranium. Others started digging bomb shelters in their backyards to protect them from a nuclear blast. But regardless of their action, for most Americans the advent of the bomb signaled an end to an age of innocence and a time to buy, buy, buy.
The early 1950s witnessed the continued paranoia that accompanied the possession of nuclear warheads. The U.S. government, in an attempt to keep one step ahead of the Russians, initiated an arms race. If the Reds had an atomic bomb, America needed a more powerful one. The resulting H-bomb put the U. S. that one strategic step ahead. This rush to create the world's top nuclear power ushered in the atomic age which was quickly joined by other sobriquets for new technological developments. Soon advertising copy was peppered with references to the jet age and the space age. A new category of advertising emerged addressing the Cold War. The tanks and jeeps of World War II were replaced by nuclear subs and guided missiles. It was in this atmosphere that Madison Avenue, in attempting to put a positive spin on the atom and doomsday predictions, embraced nuclear power and applied it to advertising. The "peaceful atom" was now working for Americans. In one amazing ad, a mushroom cloud is accompanied by copy which claims that "Even this cloud has a silver lining." Advertisers appropriated space helmets and rockets to sell cereal. Car designers came up with exaggerated tail fins for automobiles to express this new accelerated speed. And the American public ate it up.
Unlike previous decades in which the Depression and World War II condoned frugality and rationing, American consumers of the 1950s were experiencing an unprecedented phenomenon. A generation born before and during the Depression were of an age where their earning power created a pocket of wealth. This, combined with a declining number of individuals to share it and the resumption of American industry's aggressive consumer economy after World War II, set the stage for a buying binge that Americans would indulge in for the foreseeable future.
Página 1 2 3 4 5
Página 1 2 3 4 5
The atomic bomb changed everything. By 1950, Americans were slowly accepting the fact that something fundamentally different was going on in society. Despite the victories of World War II and a post-war prosperity that brought a rush of unheralded consumerism, atomic power had many Americans wondering what the future held. At the end of the summer in the year 1949, the explosion of a Russian atomic bomb confirmed that the United States was no longer the sole possessor of the mightiest nuclear device in the world and Americans responded in different ways. Some bought Geiger counters to mine for uranium. Others started digging bomb shelters in their backyards to protect them from a nuclear blast. But regardless of their action, for most Americans the advent of the bomb signaled an end to an age of innocence and a time to buy, buy, buy.
The early 1950s witnessed the continued paranoia that accompanied the possession of nuclear warheads. The U.S. government, in an attempt to keep one step ahead of the Russians, initiated an arms race. If the Reds had an atomic bomb, America needed a more powerful one. The resulting H-bomb put the U. S. that one strategic step ahead. This rush to create the world's top nuclear power ushered in the atomic age which was quickly joined by other sobriquets for new technological developments. Soon advertising copy was peppered with references to the jet age and the space age. A new category of advertising emerged addressing the Cold War. The tanks and jeeps of World War II were replaced by nuclear subs and guided missiles. It was in this atmosphere that Madison Avenue, in attempting to put a positive spin on the atom and doomsday predictions, embraced nuclear power and applied it to advertising. The "peaceful atom" was now working for Americans. In one amazing ad, a mushroom cloud is accompanied by copy which claims that "Even this cloud has a silver lining." Advertisers appropriated space helmets and rockets to sell cereal. Car designers came up with exaggerated tail fins for automobiles to express this new accelerated speed. And the American public ate it up.
Unlike previous decades in which the Depression and World War II condoned frugality and rationing, American consumers of the 1950s were experiencing an unprecedented phenomenon. A generation born before and during the Depression were of an age where their earning power created a pocket of wealth. This, combined with a declining number of individuals to share it and the resumption of American industry's aggressive consumer economy after World War II, set the stage for a buying binge that Americans would indulge in for the foreseeable future.
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