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| "Daddy, what did YOU do in The Great War" Poster by Saville Lumley (1915) (British) |
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| "The Uncle Sam Range" advertisement by Schumacher & Ettlinger (1876) (New York) |
These designs share many qualities. The most obvious being, that they are both portraying the stereotypical lives of the upper class from their countries.
Saville Lumley's target audience is middle-class men. We know this because the lower-class men would join the army because they needed money anyway, whereas the middle-class were more on the fence about signing up. The design is guilt tripping the audience into joining the army by depicting a father on the poster staring directly at the audience, meanwhile, putting emphasis on the word "you" with uppercase letters. This causes the audience to think about themselves and how they would want to answer in that situation. The design has a lay-out that fits the Fibonacci spiral. First you look at the fathers face, then the daughter, then the tag-line, and then the son playing with his army toys. We know that the daughter is asking the question because of this layout and the use of a lowercase script font. The toys and phrase "The Great War" suggests that it is important and will go down in history. The middle class man would want to be part of something described as "Great" and be remembered as a brave hero.
The American design is aimed at all American men. America is a very patriotic country and this company has used this to it's advantage. The year it was created was exactly one hundred years since America became independent. This is shown on the clock in the top left had corner. All Americans would be especially patriotic around this time and would want to support their own country by buying American products, especially ones that portrayed America in such a powerful way. The poster is trying to sell the lifestyle shown in the design. The average American man would have loved to be in such a powerful position as uncle Sam is in the illustration. He is being served by his wife and slave, supplying for his "children" and has the world over for dinner. The significance of the world being sat at the dinner table shows the amazing capability of the cooker they are selling. It also makes America look even greater and important. The children are visual metaphors for regions of the United States. This shows that cooker can supply for all American people. The design uses the rule of thirds layout vertically and horizontally to emphasise Uncle Sam being the centre of the situation and his power within the room.
Both designs use many persuasive techniques, although in my opinion the American design has a stronger, clearer message. The British design lacks a theme of pride towards Britain. I believe that if they illustrated the man in the poster in a more heroic, joyful manner, the message would be far more clear and be a much more persuasive design.
Both designs use many persuasive techniques, although in my opinion the American design has a stronger, clearer message. The British design lacks a theme of pride towards Britain. I believe that if they illustrated the man in the poster in a more heroic, joyful manner, the message would be far more clear and be a much more persuasive design.
