Lexington Books Magazine Advertising in Life during World War II: Patriotism through Service, Thrift, and Utility

Magazine Advertising in Life during World War II: Patriotism through Service, Thrift, and Utility is a descriptive analysis that examines how the cultural values of service, thrift, and utility were framed in advertisements in Life magazine from 1942 to 1945.These cultural values were used by advertisers to create citizen consumers who practiced frugal consumption of advertised products and services to demonstrate their patriotism and fulfill their perceived civic duties. Patriotism through service, thrift, and utility was not limited to citizen consumers, but was also used in the advertisements to highlight the contributions of manufacturers to the total war effort. The advertisements were able to support the war and reinforce the American way of life and its consumer culture by framing service, thrift, and utility in relation to patriotism and consumption. Recommended for scholars of media studies, cultural studies, communication, advertising, history, and women's studies. Review In Magazine Advertising in Life during World War II: Patriotism through Service, Thrift, and Utility, Monica Brasted capably extends an established line of research into the cultural implications of advertising as a contributor to consumer culture. In examining thousands of print ads from Life, America's most widely circulating magazine of the era, Brasted guides readers into valuable insights; Readers learn how messages about service, thrift, and utility evolved from 1942 through to 1945, sustaining and growing a consumer culture despite the challenges of wartime. Smartly investigated and filled with rich examples, Magazine Advertising in Life during World War II makes a valuable contribution to scholarship of cultural studies, advertising strategy, visual communication, and rhetorical analysis.--Matthew J. Smith, Radford University Magazine Advertising in Life during World War II: Patriotism through Service, Thrift, and Utility would be a useful text for media studies, women's studies or history classes. The author clearly explains how specific advertisements fit into the categories, and undergraduate students would find the content of the WWII ads interesting. In particular, I found the ads targeted at women and their changing roles and responsibilities during and after WWII fascinating. I could envision asking students to compare that to ads in the present.--Marsha Ducey, The College at Brockport, SUNY About the Author Monica Brasted is professor of media studies at the College at Brockport, SUNY.