Audience: ScotTissue Towels

This ad for ScotTissue Towels was meant to be viewed by any American running some sort of business. The advertisement immediately grabs the attention of anyone who reads it with the large question, “Is your washroom breeding Bolsheviks?” This ad is from the 1930s, a time period where fear of soviets was starting to rise in America. As such, seeing this Russian word made heads turn and captured the audience to read more.  After this the poster goes into detail on how these paper towels are better than any other brands. To solidify the audience, the poster names companies such as Viscor, National Lead, and Campbell. These brands are meant to convince the audience that if they want their company to be successful, they need these towels. However, ScotTissue Towels did not want to alienate all other consumers from buying these towels. To convince the general public, they start listing all the great things about their towels and how cost efficient they are. The slogan at the bottom seeks to leave the audience with a catchy slogan that they will remember next time they need to buy paper towels.

-LJ Brooks

Comments

  1. Eric LangOctober 5, 2017 at 7:29 AM

    You initially say that the ad was meant to be viewed by any American running some sort of business, but then add that they list reasons for the general public to use their towels. It appears, then, that the audience is not just business owners, but any American. I would also like to add that Bolshevik is used somewhat comically here, as Americans were not yet as afraid of Soviets as they were during the Cold War. This can be seen in how Bolsheviks are seen as a minor nuisance that a towel could clean up in a washroom, and not an existential threat to America.

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  2. UnknownOctober 5, 2017 at 2:05 PM

    I thought the your point on “Is your washroom breeding Bolsheviks?” gave a great start to your analysis to the ad. However that being the case I found it curious that you did not mention the photo of the man in your analysis. I think that the scowl on the man's face and body language could have made a great addition to your text. For example the man's scowl and suspicious nature relates back to the word Bolshevik, which visualizes the communist for the audience.

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