{"id":1561,"date":"2008-06-25T02:59:25","date_gmt":"2008-06-25T07:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/?p=1561"},"modified":"2010-11-23T23:46:32","modified_gmt":"2010-11-24T04:46:32","slug":"communicating-class-cadillac-ads-from-the-1960s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/2008\/06\/25\/communicating-class-cadillac-ads-from-the-1960s\/","title":{"rendered":"Communicating Class: Cadillac Ads from the 1960s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Class is usually a more subtle dimension of ads than race or gender.\u00a0 I think, and I admit I am speculating here, that it is because there is a need to, usually, appeal to the masses while at the same time suggesting that the masses do or should have access to the most high-class things (which they do not).\u00a0 Thus, the difference between being middle-class and upper-class is minimized at the same time that the symbolic\u00a0attainment (only) of upper-class-ness is being sold to middle-class people.\u00a0 There are exceptions, of course, such as when ads aimed at the upper-class sell product by suggesting that a middle-class person could never afford it.<\/p>\n

Anyway, these ads, found here<\/a>, are from 1962 and 1963. I thought they were interesting because of the way they communicated wealth and luxury, mostly with location.<\/p>\n

Notice the very old giant trees, ivy-covered ancient-looking stone, an archway, and hedges… all in what looks like a private residence.\u00a0 The copy, which suggests that I’m right about “symbolic attainment,” begins:<\/p>\n

How much does a Cadillac cost?\u00a0 Take a guess–and then check with your authorized Cadillac dealer.\u00a0 Odds are you’ll have guessed too high–for a Cadillac can be remarkably modest in cost.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is a\u00a0beautiful woman in the expensive-looking dress, of course, but also notice the cobble-stone circular driveway under her feet:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The chauffer communicates a certain degree of wealth, of course, but also the stone driveway decorated with greenery:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cobblestones, again, and a very expensive New York City apartment building.\u00a0 Copy includes the following comment:<\/p>\n

\n

“…the new 1983 car is the most rewarding possession a man can have.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Thanks to Jason<\/a> for the link!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Class is usually a more subtle dimension of ads than race or gender.\u00a0 I think, and I admit I am speculating here, that it is because there is a need to, usually, appeal to the masses while at the same time suggesting that the masses do or should have access to the most high-class things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[29,221,23705],"class_list":["post-1561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-class","tag-cars","tag-vintage-stuff"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1561"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29511,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1561\/revisions\/29511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/socimages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}