Advertising During World War II

The thing that most ordinary people like to look at concerning World War II is the combat footage and coverage. Newsreels depicting all the great battles mere days after they happened, photos of those brave soldiers duking it out around Europe. While all of this is certainly worth looking at, there is an often overlooked aspect of the war that can be just as entertaining and interesting: consumer advertising.

It is often taken for granted that the home front of any wartime country has a patriotic air about it, and that the populace overwhelmingly supports the war effort. However, while this patriotism was photographed occasionally, it was not the main focus during the war. Nevertheless, a glimpse of how pervasive this patriotism was can be seen in the advertising of the time. Often, companies would put their product in a war context to make the consumer believe that not only are they helping their fellow fighting citizens, but they are also sharing in their experiences. After all, who wouldn't want to smoke the same cigarette as Sergeant America, who single-handedly killed twenty Germans without hesitation? Who wouldn't want to buy stock in companies that provided fuel to American bombers and tanks? Finally, who wouldn't want to buy a war bond to help finance the war and bring back their sons sooner?

This is just a small selection of various American advertisements circulated during the war years, circa 1942-45. Note the motifs of the war ever present in the ads, and place yourself in the shoes of the average American consumer of that time. Would these ads affect your spending habits?

Enjoy these ads, and feel free to look for others elsewhere. There are many sites that catalog these kinds of ads, from many countries other than the US. Until next time, take care, and thank you.