Freedom for sale

Abstract

Abstract In the 1920s, American advertising of commercial products1 first demonstrated that it could serve the interests of state power as well as industrial profits. Others have argued effectively that the promotion of mass-produced commodities gave the heterogeneous population of immigrants a sense of social belonging, aiding in the process of ‘Americanization’ that diverted them from radical political activity.2 But, arguably, of even greater significance is the fact that, through modern advertising, the traditional goals of political life - freedom, power, social mobility - actually became displaced onto commodities. Tourism and travel advertisements lent themselves especially well to this procedure, as the phenomenon of physical movement provided a ready-made allegory for freedom. In order to demonstrate the transformation of and by advertising in the rg2os, I will consider two such ads, one before and one after the change. The first example is a poster for Cook's Tours (the original travel agency) created at the turn of the century (figure 1). A group of tourists, well-dressed and composed, float free of the earth, supported by a ‘magic carpet’ that resembles a balloon or parachute. This carpet is borne on the back of a Third-World, Aladdin-like figure, whose superior strength is at the service of his Aryan masters and mistresses. They are spectactors, viewing the panorama of nature from a civilized distance and with obedient passivity, as the message promises to deliver them (and the readers) ‘anywhere you wish’.