Annotation
1 Note the simple font used and the wording "Syrup and Extract"
2 Described as a cure for all "nervous affections" suggesting that it has medicinal properties
3 The inclusion of the word 'chemist' designed to re-assure the customer that it is in some way scientifically prepared.
Annotation
1 Use of the dove to suggest 'peace and harmony' referring back to a very successful TV commercial "I want to teach the world to sing..."
2 Rainbow indicative of sunshine in the rain - a promise also of a crock of gold at the end of the rainbow.
3 Bottle presented, balanced on the head of the clown, (?subliminal message of the a well balanced drink) . The 'light' links the bottle to the rainbow and through that to the dove re-inforcing the message.
4. The choice of colour and the inclusion of bubbles not only refers to the 'fizziness' of the drink but also is suggestive of something that is clean and healthy.
5 The main figure is the clown suggesting that the drink is linked with a fun lifestyle and makes people happy.
6 the placement of the bottle, the simple use of the word 'coke' the universal shorthand for Coca-Cola (there are other Colas but only one Coke!) strengthens the overall message.
7. Finally the now well known font of Coca-Cola advertising.
The claims made in the first advert would no longer be allowed under legislation designed to make advertising more honest although my cynical side thinks that were the legislation not there such claims would be made explicitly or implicitly. The staid printed advert has now been replaced by colourful and exciting imagery that through symbols and suggestion links to all previous adverts thus ensuring a consistent and powerful message.
Annotation
1 Each corner has an image representative of a particular age emphasising that the soap is for all ages despite the heavy reliance upon the image of children used in nearly all Pears soap adverts
2 A young white boy suitably dressed for bathing a child (suggesting a superior relationship with the other human in the advert), is offering the soap to a young black boy in the bathtub.
3 The young black boy looks wonderingly down into the bathwater one supposes what miracle is about to happen.
4 Placed in the middle of the advert is the name of the product clear for all to see and offers a 'time' barrier to allow for the transformation to take place
5 The writing that is difficult to see is an endorsement of the product by a famous name in this case Lily Langtry.
6 The black boy has miraculously become white skinned where he has been washed by the soap
7 The white boy holds up a mirror so that his friend? can see the benefits of using Pears soap - it washes away all those stains that we do not want.
{Comment - I still cannot believe that this advert is 'real'. The undisguised racism is breathtaking and it is difficult to believe that any company at any time would wish to be associated with such beliefs}
Annotation
1 Here the packaging is used to provide a simple message for the potential purchaser and shows the 'new 'soap in its different form
2 The second package uses a similar message but this time it refers to thew original form of the soap - the one that is well known to those who use it.
3 The soap is taken out of the package to show that it is indeed the original that remains unchanged
4 Here is the new soap - different shape and now wrapped.
Pears attempted to introduce a new version of its much loved soap. As a public relations exercise it was a disaster akin to the problems faced by Coca-Cola when they attempted to introduce a newer more up to date version of their drink. However, compared to the pre-war advert the modern advert is simpler, cleaner and makes no false claims. Again the existence of legislation that would ban the content of the pre-war advert makes it difficult to judge whether such advertising tricks would still appear in an unfettered advertising world.
1 A frightened/scared woman reflecting the human form of the problems mentioned in the narrative.
2 A direct reference to a possible medical condition that may be 'cured' by the drinking of the product.
3 Name of the product clearly displayed.
4 Here the reader is told what she needs to overcome all the problems suggested in the remainder of the advert. There is no doubt expressed in the efficacy of Ovaltine nor any evidence to support the claims made.
Annotation
1 Here there is no claim made about the effect upon the person drinking the beverage but there is the suggestion that the goodness of the countryside is contained in the drink and that 'goodness' will in some unspecified way be felt by the consumer.
2 The woman is holding a tin of the product making a direct connection between the obvious health of the person and the tin that she is holding.
3 The image is of a woman brimming with health and happiness. The sheath of barley and the eggs in the basket are there to show that the product is the result of the combination of two of nature's natural bounty.
4 The image is backed by easily recognisable 'country' scenes including cows for milk and the collection of the harvest.
The first advert which is pre-war makes similar claims to the health benefits of the product as made for Coca-Cola. Again these claims would not be allowed under present legislation. The second advert makes no direct claims but uses symbols that the reader can use to connect the product with a desired end.
General comment: I looked at quite a few adverts and the thing that struck me that the pre-war adverts would be banned under present day legislation. This suggests that it was felt there was a need to curtail the activities of the advertisers who made claims that could not be backed up by evidence. One is left wondering how far advertisers would go if there constraints were removed. Is it possibly the case that the reason for the changes are little to do with the era and more to do with the drive to make adverts 'honest'
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