OUGD401 - Propaganda poster and 'Uncle Sam Range' advert Comparison

At a glance, ‘The Uncle Sam range’ , an advertisement for a cooker by Schumacher & Ettlinger (1876) and ‘Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?’ by propaganda artist Savile Lumley seem to have almost nothing in common. But there are many similarities between the two...

‘The Uncle Sam range’ boasts a distinct theme of patriotism, from the garish star-spangled curtains to the bold, all-American typefaces across the bottom, whilst ‘Daddy..?’ holds a less obvious, but still apparent British theme. It conveys this through the floral patterned curtains, symbolising the red rose of England, and the Queens guards figurines that the child is playing with. Both of these posters also share the theme of war, ‘the Uncle Sam range’ being commemorative to the American declaration of independence through the dates on the clock and the framed treaty on the wall, whilst ‘Daddy…?’ is a recruitment campaign for the English army during the First World War, set in the future when the war has finished. They both celebrate a passing of a war, but through different emotions. ‘The Uncle Sam range’ celebrates this through pride and American greatness. For example, the world is featured as a character, and joins Uncle Sam at the dinner table as they enjoy food from around the globe from the featured cooker. This conveys a sense of pride in not only in their cooker but America itself, representing America as the provider/ the alpha male to the rest of the world. This gives the reader a automatic feeling of faith in the cooker, persuading them to buy it or desire to buy it.

Whereas ‘Daddy…?’ celebrates the passing of war through the potential feeling of guilt, the main subject being a father who didn’t volunteer during the war being asked by his daughter what part did he contribute. The idea being that the viewer would empathise the mans’ situation, and for shame would no longer avoid to sign up. Although there is a difference in how the message is delivered, the alpha male figure is also found in ‘Daddy…?’  as the responsibility of the provider is aspired to by viewers through the desire of heroism and pride.

Another similarity between the two would be that they both seemed to be aimed at the upper/middle classes. This is shown by characters in both scenes being in lavish clothing/ surroundings. The black slave retrieving the food from the oven in ‘Uncle Sam..’ would also have been common in upper class homes of the time.

The idea of faith is shown in ‘Daddy..?’ as the man is sat in his lavishly furnished home with a family, bearing in mind this poster was made mid-world-war when the end of the war was uncertain. This message of faith in the country to survive such a war also connects to the aspiration of the reader - to be a hero. In summary, both posters carry the theme of looking back on a war, through patriotism and pride. While one motivates their readers to buy with aspiration to be alpha male, another motivates their readers to sign up with the aspiration to be alpha male.