Comments on: Ads You’re Not Going to See Again Anytime Soon – Chapter 10

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:27:28 +0000

Thanks for this context, Bookslinger. There *are* a lot of details to cringe from, as noted by other commenters (thanks, all), but you’re right to point out the risk of presentism by our assuming too great parallels between 1932 and 2008. Although I had forgotten it until reading your comment, I remember discussing a closely related idea in an English class on “Silas Marner.” Marner-the-miser was in part a villain because he hoarded his gold — not because he had gold, but because he made no use of it and thereby deprived the entire community of the good it might have done. Closer to home, Brigham Young very frequently made the point when he urged home production that manufacturing locally and trading locally did the community much good, because the same dollar would circulate multiple times, each time benefiting the community. But a dollar spent in purchasing from an outside merchant who freighted in merchandise meant that the dollar was gone from the community and could never do us any good any more. Heber J. Grant used the same reasoning when encouraging patronage of Mormon-owned Beneficial Life rather than out-of-town insurers.

By: Bookslinger

Bookslinger — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 14:56:37 +0000

Note the differences in the meaning of the word “hoard” and “save”, and the copy writers may have been deliberately trying to confuse the reader. Or, at least, there is a lot left unsaid in the historical context, which would have been obvious to people back then, and isn’t obvious to us today.

Remember this was just a few years after the stock market crash of 1929

Back in the 1930′s due to the failure of banks in the crash, people no longer trusted banks, so people “hoarded” their money, not by putting it in a savings account, but by burying it, or putting it in their mattress.

This took money out of circulation. So in the terms of the day “hoarding” (as opposed to saving/investing) really was a bad thing.

If the government printed more money, then your money decreased in value. Yet people were to scared to invest and didn’t trust banks enough to put the money in a savings account or even a checking account.

This was before bank accounts were insured/guaranteed by the government.

The smart thing would have been to purchase something that didn’t depreciate in value, like precious metals, or useful materials.

There’s more to the story with the federal government melting down gold coins and making it illegal for private citizens to own gold coins or bullion.

But the bottom line, is that there is more historical and cultural context to the ad than what is in the written copy.

By: Jami

Jami — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:59:05 +0000

Oh ow. This one hurts on so many levels.

By: Ray

Ray — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:49:28 +0000

Wow, Ardis. This is a doozy!

By: Mark N.

Mark N. — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 02:40:56 +0000

Makes a great weight loss ad, though.

By: Justin

Justin — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:34:33 +0000

Hmm. I wonder if this is a stock advertisement.

By: BruceC

BruceC — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:31:06 +0000

/This is me resisting the urge to rant about the foolishness of the federal government borrowing money (in the form of future taxes) to spend inorder to prop up a collapsing economic system./

We may have jettisoned the racist tone of this ad, but the shortsighted attitude still remains.

By: queuno

queuno — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:36:31 +0000

I’m fascinated by the last tagline: “Advertising … protects the consumer.” Really?

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:03:59 +0000

Yes … well … maybe I should put a warning up front about what you’re wading into …

There’s a good reason for the title of this advertisement series.

By: Hunter

Hunter — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:38:10 +0000

“a backward, primitive people…”

Eww… /wince/