'Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?' - Savile Lumley (1915)
'The "Uncle Sam" Range' - Schuacher & Ettlinger (1876)
The two posters sell an aspirational lifestyle unlike one
another (In culture and attitudes), yet both use and play on the methods of
selling this lifestyle in ways which are very similar.
The lifestyle being sold by the ‘Uncle Sam’s Range’ is the ‘American
dream’; prosperity and success. Everything
that the middle-class American aspires to is advertised here, apart from how
the range functions. The connotations that come along with the range are of
patriotism and wealth, this is indicated by over the top stars and stripes,
representative of the American flag. This then ties in with the attitudes drawn
upon in Lumley’s poster with small differences. Lumley draws more upon guilt to
inspire patriotism and a better lifestyle. They’re both very stereotypical and
play on that, they just utilise it in different ways: ‘Uncle Sam’s range’ is in
your face, full force American. Whereas in Lumley’s poster, it’s a play on the subconscious,
it’s subtle. Yet its effect is at core trying to influence you to be patriotic
and play your part in the war. That’s incredibly British. It’s the combination
of pressure and guilt that is within the poster that makes the audience want to
aspire to have a better lifestyle.
The attitudes displayed in both posters towards the audience
is very different too, In Lumley’s poster the audience is been judged, guilty
of not participating in the ‘Great war’ it’s a flash-forward looking in the
retrospect. This, and the fact that the
little girl is reading what looks like a history book of Britain's victory at war,
along with the little boy reenact what his daddy did during the war, it’s a complacent
assumption. It’s this is significantly
different to the ‘Uncle Sam’s Range’ poster which judges the world through
stereotypes. America has only been independent for 100 years yet it is already
superior to all other countries, seen from the racist options on the menu. It’s
America and the world and this is more than evident within the imagery with the
world the opposite side to America.
The wording as well suggests America’s power: “Feeding the
world by the aid of…” It’s an arrogant self-imposition that they’re the ones
feeding the world with this new range, or well ‘aiding’. This self-importance is similar to the slogan
in Lumley’s poster: “Daddy, what did YOU
do in the Great War?” on that aspect it’s the self-importance of an object and
person and who it’s aimed at. Although Lumley’s is a lot more personal and
direct, the italic, capitalised and underline score this perfectly. It’s a direct, whereas the range is simply
stating how great it is. The heading comes off as over the top, the gold text
relating to the wealth held by America is just another power and status symbol,
along with the eagle and black slave. There’s a strong contrast between the two
of them, Lumley’s being a lot more modest and realistic of a presumption of the
lifestyle attainable and to aspire to. It’s a middle-class aspiration, whereas ‘Uncle
Sam’s Range’ brings a superficial social status and power to the middle-class.
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