Advertisements and society

Advertisements can tell a lot about a society. They can be a sure sign of what is important to people, and what they value. In a sense advertising creates the value of a certain product. Advertisers create the demand for a product by exploiting it in a positive or negative way. At first people were not to good at this newly found practice, but quickly caught on. The demands of society in this time were much different than they are today. A major problem in early advertisement was how to get people to buy a certain product. In the late 1800’s to early 1900’s advertisements reveal a lot about white middle class hopes, fears, and values. Some of the values of this time period that the middle class cared about were beauty/ personal hygiene, health, and appearance.
During the turn of this century, the demands of society were much different than they are today. Advertisements were a bit more simple and conservative. Many Americans believed in Social Darwinism, which is the “survival...