William O'Barr argues that the most oftenly used types of advertisement are the messages that are openly portrayed about the qualities of the goods or services advertised and the other being ideas that are conveyed about society and culture.
2a. How were men presented in adverts during the Second World War?
At the outbreak of WWII men started being portrayed as strong heroes that were getting ready to go out and fight. This was an almost immediate reaction:
'Chilprufe ran an advertisement in Punch that declared
its underwear was 'Best for National Service' (see Figure 5.2). Alongside a drawing of an underwear-clad
man that had been used the previous year in an advertisement for the same garments
ran the lines, 'To keep really fit for long hours of duty in trying conditions you must be warm and
comfortable.' This use of slightly altered text and an identical image reflected a quick response to the
needs of men who were signing up for an active role in the war.'
2b. Why do you think men were presented in this way during the war?
Just like uncle Sam was used to recruit and as a way of reaching out to men these sorts of advertisement were used so men that were able to see it felt the need to participate in order to relate to the attitudes portrayed. Its almost a sort of archetypal male form of the era.
2c. How did this change after the war?
After the war, underwear advertisement offered a new way of thinking about men's underwear that was less
serious than many of the previous, earnest advertisements that focussed on the processes of buying
and selling; the new advertisements allowed questions about the intimate relationship the wearer
had with his undergarments to be asked.
3.Compare one of the images in the article to a recent underwear advert. Describe both adverts and comment on the similarities and differences in the way these adverts present male bodies and masculinity?
Meridian 1954 Aussiebum 2013
Meridian: This ad clearly show the idealism of the baby boomer cohort of a father and son playing around innocently before he puts his son to bed. This ad also prioritises comfort over style as the garments themselves are quite simple and a big selling point being the 'double lock fabric'
Aussibum: A scantily clad man with a clear high muscle tone and low body fat who clearly works out. This adverts doesn't say much about the garments themselves but it does have tag line which i find quite interesting "if you doubt yourself, wear something else" which is a clear nod to the models fit physique.
I think the differences between these adverts really demonstrate the growth and difference between men in generation x and y. The first adverts is all about family values with the man being portrayd as a father figure playing with his son, not much style has been taken into consideration when making the garments as they are just plain white and the main selling point being this new "double lock fabric" however when you look at the aussiebum ad there the fabric or comfort of the material stops being mention and its really more about the design of the underwear and the model wearing it, this model was clearly chosen for his physique and looks the archetypal male figure of the 21st century is a man who not only keeps fit but is clearly well built and cares about the way he looks, he takes style into consideration even when it comes to garments that are not usually seen by everybody. The tag line is another thing that really shows the difference between these two ads because it suggests that confidence and the way you look are more important than what you have a achieved in a sense. Using Male models sex appeal is no longer exclusively used to sell to women, although you might not necessarily want to be with this "sexy" man you want to be that man, look like that man, you want to have his presence and confidence. It shows theres two hugely different goals in life and way of living, the 50s is all about building a family whilst now a days its about confidence and looking the best you can possibly look.
4: What do you think we can learn, if anything, about experiences of being a man in the 1940s and 1950s from underwear adverts?
I what ive learn from reading this text is that being a man in the 40s and 50s meant you needed to take into account substance over form which i think is something that we need to think about more these days. Most men these days gravitate towards branded underwear simply because its branded, its a form of appearing more attractive purely because of the association these brands have to a higher class. They might not be the best quality items but we trust in them because they have a luxury brands name attached to it.
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