Capitalizing on Civil Unrest and Political Movements in Advertising
The late 1800s and early 1900s were turbulent time for women. During this period women were in the heart of the suffrage movement. Through the suffrage movement women were able to get the right to vote and many more civil rights. As a result of women's rights dramatically increasing going into the 1900s, what we saw in advertising in particular, with the cigarette industry was truly amazing. Corporations began to revolutionize marketing and use tactics that billion-dollar companies still use today, all in the hope of attracting the female consumer. The following essay will be detailing the link between the suffrage movement and the advertising of cigarettes in the 1920s and 30s and draw modern-day parallels. The impact of the innovative marketing tactics used then is still being felt today as evident in the fast fashion industry and Nike advertisements. In order to enrich the analysis, the core themes of gender, class, power and the ideology of separate spheres will be explored throughout the essay.
Prior to the mid-1800s, women were stripped of basic liberties such as; not having the right to vote, not being able to own land, and not being legally entitled to any money. Throughout the early 1800s, there were the beginnings of an uprise by women but nothing major. This all changed in 1848 when, Elizabeth Cady Staton and Lucretia Mott organized the first national-level convention for women's rights, and over 300 people attended. A keynote from this gathering was that everyone agreed that women were, “autonomous individuals who deserved their own political identities”. This statement directly relates back to the theme of power, as women realized that they were just as competent as men and deserved just as much power. Women were done being powerless, they were going to do something about it. In 1848, the two women would release the “Declaration of Sentiments”, which detailed that women and men are both equal and deserve the same liberties. Once the American Civil War began the movement did lose some steam but would pick right back up afterward.
During 1869, two organizations were formed, the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). The NWSA wanted to amend the constitution on a federal level whereas the AWSA took a state-by-state approach. Throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, the women's suffrage movement began to gain popularity and became stronger. In 1889 the NWSA and AWSA merged and create the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). During the proceeding decades, various states would amend their constitutions and grant women the right to vote. Wyoming was the first to do it in 1890. The day women were waiting for came on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was officially added to the United States constitution. Looking back at this era now one is able to see there were many drivers in women’s fight to get the vote. The theme of the class was internally tied with the suffrage movement since the ideals the women were fighting against were ideas such as; women belong in the household and women should be taking care of children. Working-class women had to work and the high-class women could care less since they were indulging in their family wealth. Additionally, the race was another underlying theme due to the fact that black men were given the right to vote before white women and that the white suffrage movement saw the black movement as a liability that could hurt their cause. This led to a certain degree of tension since the white women believed they were more superior than black people and felt entitled. This was put on full display in 1913 when black protestors of the suffrage movement were ordered to all march together at the back of the parade. Looking back at the events now, one can see that there was a huge amount of hypocrisy. White protestors felt that they were being held down by the patriotic society, but failed to see the similarities between themselves and African Americans during this time who were fighting for a similar cause. Overall, the momentum women gained in the early 1900s led to the breaking down of traditional gender roles and saw women becoming more empowered.
During the 1900s industrialization was rampant. With costs decreasing and supply increasing cigarette companies needed a new market to sell all of the excess supply to and they had the perfect market. A consumer base that was frustrated and looking for different ways to rebel against societal norms. During the 1900s smoking, a cigarette became a sign of rebellion. Smoking was a way for women to express their equality to men. By looking at this point in time through the concept of individual spheres one is able to gain a better understanding of women in society during this time. Prior to this time, women stayed in the private sphere and only men were in the public sphere. The private sphere being the home and tasks that took care of the household and the public sphere being the workplace. During this time “work” was seen as a masculine thing since men would enter the public sphere and act as the breadwinners for their wives and children. Class played a crucial role in this, as the concept of the women staying home was a middle class idea since the working class needed the women’s income. In the 1900s this began to change and women began to enter the public sphere. This was primarily thanks to the suffrage movement. As a result of the suffrage movement, women became more confident and were provided more opportunities in society. Women began to enter the workforce which worked in favor of the cigarette companies as their new consumer base now had extra disposable income.
Smoking was seen as a male thing and was heavily contested by middle-class America who saw this as the dismantling of traditional values. This can be seen in a news article from the New York Times article from June 24th, 1901, titled; “Women Cigarette Smokers”. In this article, the author refers to women smoking cigarettes as a “menace” to the country. Smoking was also seen as unladylike. Cigarette companies saw how willing women were to smoke in order to rebel and capitalized on this. Throughout the 1920s and 30s companies began to release advertisements with women holding cigarettes. The companies would refer to the woman as a “modern girl”. Additionally, during the 1920s and 30s cigarette companies would show women in public alone smoking a cigarette. Although this may just seem like a normal advertisement today, in the minds of women in the 1920s and 30s this represented freedom, this was done on purpose by the companies. This struck a core with women and made them feel more powerful. The theme of power would apply here, throughout the cigarette advertisements of the 1920s and 30s the main thing the companies were doing was making women feel more powerful. This was very smart on the company's part as they leveraged a movement to their advantage. This would only continue to grow. The theme of the class was also apparent. Depending on the class there was a different magazine that catered towards women however, this changed with the rise of the middle and working class. For example, Vogue initially targeted the upper-middle-class however, after they saw the rise in the middle and working-class they began to broaden their consumer base. During this time Vogue began to do something very smart, in its magazine models would be seen wearing expensive designer clothing, and cigarettes were also very common in the advertisements.
The cigarette made women feel empowered and modern. Vogue capitalized on this feeling and created its own line that acted as an alternative to the expensive merchandise that was displayed in the advertisement. Vogue was able to monetize a woman’s desire to be a modern girl. Although pulling customers in with the promise of trendy designer merchandise at a fair price was an innovative tool that came about because of how the cigarette was marketed, the greatest achievement in marketing from the cigarette industry came on March 31st, 1929, the event is better known as the Easter Day Parade of 1929. In 1929, Edward Bernays orchestrated one of the world’s greatest public relations campaigns that were the first of its kind on behalf of the American Tobacco Company. Although it is similar to how cigarette companies used the growing frustration among women to their advantage, the nature of this event was different. Bernays was able to convince an abundance of women to march down 5th Avenue, light their cigarettes, and hold them up in the air. This action would go on to be known as the “torches of freedom”, which symbolized the newfound liberation. The newspapers praised Bernays and the American Tobacco Company for their willingness to empower women. Bernays was able to not only embrace the tension and frustration the women were feeling he was able to turn it into a full-blown public relations campaign that garnered widespread media attention. Obviously, not all of the reactions were good, but it got people to talk about the company. Before this the cigarette campaigns never really garnered much of a public reaction outside women being persuaded to smoke. Bernays cigarette campaign was the first to garner a widespread media reaction. It is because of advertisements like these that Edward Bernays became known as the father of public relations. After the 1920s and 30s marketing was different cigarette companies were able to revolutionize marketing, largely due to the civil unrest and empowerment women felt as a result of the suffrage movement.
The marketing tactics that were employed by the cigarette industry over 80 years ago had a massive impact and their influence can still be felt today. In particular, the concept of advertising cheaper alternatives and capitalizing on civil unrest and political movements. In regards to advertising cheaper alternatives, one can look at H&M. H&M’s entire business model is to deliver trendy clothing that is in at a fraction of the price. H&M heavily relies on designer brands to set the trends so that they know what consumers want and they can create their products accordingly. This is very similar to how Vogue would have models wearing designer clothing and having a cigarette and would offer cheaper alternatives. H&M is not the only brand that does this, fast fashion has become an entire industry with the primary goal of leveraging the consumer’s desires. Brands such as; Zara and Fashion Nova have also emerged with the same goal. This marketing concept can be attributed to how cigarette companies were able to make women feel about their products. Secondly, leveraging political unrest and movements to one's advantage has become a common practice now. For example, after Colin Kaepernick decided to kneel for the national anthem during NFL games to bring attention to police brutality and the systematic oppression of African Americans, there was a great deal of outrage and support. Similarly, after the Easter Day Parade of 1929, there were those that supported women smoking and those who were completely against it. After Colin Kaepernck was blackballed as a result of his protest, there was massive outrage and citizens decided to protest and boycott the NFL. Nike decided to use the resentment and anger the public built towards the NFL to their advantage and release an ad campaign centered around Colin Kaepernick. Nike released an ad with Colin Kaeperneck and the following statement, 'Believe in something. Even it if it means sacrificing everything. Just do it.'. To this day Colin Kaepernick does not have a job in the NFL and the sour taste of the Colin Kaepernick drama is still being felt. Similar to how the Easter day parade of 1929 garnered support from the newspapers, Nike’s ad campaign was trending on all social media networks and was applauded by major faces in America. The celebrities that supported Nike’s ad included; Lebron James, Jay Z, Serena Williams, and various other celebrities throughout the sports and entertainment industry. The advertisement was so polarizing that it even got the President of the United States to create a firestorm on social media. Donald Trump claimed that just like the NFL, Nike would be destroyed. However, just like the parade, there were also those that disapproved, and social media users began to urge a boycott of Nike. Ultimately, the advertisement only helped Nike, Nike saw a 5% increase in their stock price. It is because of what Edward Bernays did with the cigarette advertisement that companies now are willing to politicize their advertisements. The cigarette industry laid the framework and since then numerous companies have followed suit.
