Lecture Notes: Mass Production, Consumption, and Advertising

Introduction to Mass Production and Consumption

• Mass Production: Led to the need for mass consumption.
• Advertising: Developed alongside mass production to sell goods.

Advertising Techniques in Early 20th Century

• Artificial Need: Creating consumer demand by inducing anxiety or insecurity.
• Celebrity Endorsements: Using famous figures to promote products.
• Example: Palmolive soap ad referencing Cleopatra promising "perfect skin" using "ancient beauty arts".

Buying on Credit

• Became widespread for more expensive items.
• Example: Ads using the Statue of Liberty for marketing consumer goods, such as crackers.

Rural Consumption and Mail Order

• Mail Order Firms: Catered to rural communities; Sears Roebuck and Company was the most famous.
• Sears Catalog: Known as "The Big Book," offered a wide range of products.
• Sears Homes: Offered pre-cut houses weighing 25 tons, including all necessary materials, shipped via railroad.

Urban Consumption

• Predominantly an urban phenomenon.
• Department Stores: Developed in cities like New York and Chicago.
• Chain Stores and Mail Order Houses: Made goods accessible to urban and rural consumers.

Products of Mass Consumption

• Included electric sewing machines, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and record players.

Leisure and Mass Entertainment

• Amusement Parks, Dance Halls, Theaters: Attracted large crowds.
• Motion Pictures: Became a mass phenomenon; Edison's innovations played a role.
• Nickelodeons: Theaters charging a five-cent ticket price.

Nostalgia for the Past

• Early 1900s: Some people romanticized the simplicity of life before modern technologies.

Film and Westerns

• Edwin Porter: Worked in Edison's Menlo Park studio.
• The Great Train Robbery (1903): First western film, 10 minutes long, notable for having a plot (train robbery).
• Impact on Society: Technology provided new avenues for entertainment and consumption beyond survival necessities.

Conclusion

• The rise of the middle class led to an increased interest in not just necessities but also entertainment and consumption.