Conventional wisdom holds  that mass death is the worst byproduct of war. This is a lie: the true travesty is the advertising. World War One (or “The Great War” as it was called before humanity repeated the stunt within the same century) produced some fascinatingly terrible posters, several of which I encountered at the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library. I’ve taken the liberty of grading these embarrassments.

Is this all it takes to manipulate people? After all the scientific effort put behind identifying principles of persuasion, all that’s really necessary is a one-letter logo and one-word command? Dissapointing.

I’d make a crack about twentieth century intellects, but have a feeling that the twenty-first isn’t much further along.

Grade: F

“Over the top” is a fine description of an ad wherein a square-jawed soldier runs towards the viewer gripping an American flag. Classy.

Grade: C-

It may be melodramatic and overstuffed with symbolism, but this ad is very economical. Out of all the overwrought propaganda flyers produced during the 1910’s, how many can claim to pull double duty as both a recruitment poster and war-bond guilt trip?

Humor aside, there’s an interesting mental trick here. The ad poses a binary set of options: throwing your life away, and throwing your money away. The alternative isn’t simple treason; the alternative doesn’t exist.

Grade: B-

The magic paper-firing guns raise an interesting question: how many bullets could the Treasury have bought with the budget for these posters? Then again, perhaps I should think a little more outside the box. We could have carpet-bombed the Triple Entente with excess propaganda, suffocating the enemy under of never-ending wave of crushing paper.

Grade: D-

This is my personal favorite. It’s a perfect sample of ill-conceived insanity.

Consider the train of thought presented. Joan of Arc, an eastern French peasant, cut a bloody swath through British soldiers after hearing voices in her head. This ended in being burned alive. Five centuries later, American citizens should buy war bonds.

Let’s try extrapolating from there. Should I ambush British soldiers? Wear a suit of armor? Light myself on fire? Develop schizophrenia? Perhaps It’d be best if I charged the Kaiser with a broadsword.

Grade: F-/A+

8/30/2010
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