See 19 Vintage Magazine Ads That Capitalized on the End of World War II
See 19 Vintage Magazine Ads That Capitalized on the End of World War II
1 minute read
An ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. A two-page spread from Buick reminds readers that returning G.I.s deserve cars that are "nice to come home to" even as the war work continues.TIME / Buick
The Japanese surrender in World War II—which was promised on Aug. 14-15, 1945—ushered in a period of national upheaval in America. The nation’s major companies were eager to capitalize on the changed mood. As these ads that ran in TIME during those weeks show, everyone from office-supply companies to cigarette makers tried to use the news to tailor their pitches. They appealed to veterans looking for new stability, to housewives who had kept the home fires burning, or to businesses starting the process of converting back to a peacetime economy.
See Photos of Vintage Coca-Cola Signs from New York City to Bangkok
Coca-Cola signs at a roadside store marked "For Colored," 1938.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA man ponders a Coca-Cola ad in Columbus Circle in Manhattan during a heat wave in 1944.Marie Hansen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA Frenchman considers Coke's allure in 1950.Mark Kauffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA Coke truck makes its rounds in 1950 France.Mark Kauffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCoca-Cola is on sale at Jimmie's Trailer Camp on U.S. 1, outside of Washington, D.C., in 1938.Margaret Bourke-White—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA French Coca-Cola truck pauses on its route in 1950.Mark Kauffman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA Coca-Cola road sign beckons on the Autobahn between Munich and Salzberg, Germany, 1947.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCoca-Cola throws shoulders for a space among competing brands in 1938.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA Thai billboard makes a suggestion in 1950.Dmitri Kessel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA Coca-Cola sign at Anne's Sandwich Shop on Cape Cod, during the summer of 1946.Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA drugstore boasts both Cokes for sale and the name of the then-first lady, Puerto Rico, 1943.THOMAS D. MCAVOYBoy selling Coca Cola from a roadside stand., 1936.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 20, 1945, issue of TIME. Plastics from the chemical company Monsanto are sold to G.I.s for the "decade after Victory, [when] your 'Castles in the Air' will become Homes in America."TIME / MonsantoAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 20, 1945, issue of TIME. As a group of G.i.s returns to find that those on the home front have done their part, Caterpillar Tractor Co. encourages civilians to keep buying War Bonds with "no slacking off until the evil thing that threatens our homes has been wholly vanquished."TIME / Caterpillar TractorAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 20, 1945, issue of TIME. The Douglas DC-6 plane is touted as "First home...in war or peace."TIME / DouglasAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 20, 1945, issue of TIME. Wartime research that went into the General Motors Aeroprop propeller will benefit civilian aviation too, this ad explains.TIME / General MotorsAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. The postwar return to full production at factories will be an opportunity for businesses, and "foresighted wiring in postwar plans" will keep those factories efficient.TIME / Anaconda Wire & CableAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. Civilians are encouraged to rely on air transportation even as military aviation winds down. TIME / The Airlines of the United StatesAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. A G.I. returning to his office job is celebrated by grateful colleagues...who thank him by putting his desk near the soda machine.TIME / PepsiAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. "As soon as war conditions permit," Kodak promises, full-color film will be once again available for civilian use.TIME / KodakAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. A two-page spread from Buick reminds readers that returning G.I.s deserve cars that are "nice to come home to" even as the war work continues. TIME / BuickAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. Once radio are fully available at peacetime production levels, this ad warns, demand will be very high—so better to order in advance.TIME / Emerson RadioAn ad that appeared in the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of TIME. The record-keeping needs of war were addressed by Diebold office equipment, this page reminds readers, and the problems of the reconversion period can be thus solved too.TIME / DieboldAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 3, 1945, issue of TIME. Hire a veteran, says this public-service announcement paid for by BF Goodrich, to improve your business' morale and discipline.TIME / The B.F. Goodrich CompanyAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 3, 1945, issue of TIME. If Army and Navy hospitals—as well as "airmen whose faces are susceptible to frostbite"—use Remington Electric Shavers, why wouldn't those men keep using the same shavers after the war? And if it takes a little while for civilian production levels to increase, the ad notes, the wait will be worthwhile.TIME / Remington Electric ShaversAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 3, 1945, issue of TIME. Exide Batteries honors the Navy and Merchant Marine, while reminding readers that the ships on which those men served contained many battery-powered tools for which dependability was crucial.TIME / Exide BatteriesAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 10, 1945, issue of TIME. The medical ultraviolet glass lamps made by Corning that are shown in this ad aren't actually weapons, but the company uses a wartime analogy to compare them to an "ack-ack gun" that could be used against disease.TIME / CorningAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 10, 1945, issue of TIME. What does a sewing machine and a radio program of 1890s standards have to do with the war? This ad for a Tobe Filterizer that prevents household electronic equipment (like the sewing machine) from causing radio static is touted as a way that "your post war home can have both."TIME / TobeAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 17, 1945, issue of TIME. Though this chocolate advertisement doesn't call out the war specifically, the man giving a woman his hat and a Whitman's Sampler has clearly recently returned from the service.TIME / Whitman'sAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 17, 1945, issue of TIME. "If it hadn't been for the war and shortages," this ad declares, "lots of families might never have learned how many different kinds of those good Campbell's Soups there are!"TIME / Campbell'sAn ad that appeared in the Sept. 17, 1945, issue of TIME. This tribute to veterans plays on a little boy asking his father for an explanation of the lapel pin given to honorably discharged veterans—and promises that "as [servicemembers] go on to final victory they have first call on Camels."TIME / Camel
