A former colleague of mine, Marc Babej now runs his own marketing strategy consulting firm called Reason Inc. Marc’s latest Forbes.com column highlights six interesting marketing lessons culled from 1930s advertising.
Low prices aren’t enough. Value refers to a low price in relation to the value of the benefits offered by a product–even something as simple and seemingly undifferentiated as a light bulb. Take this 1930 ad for General Electric’s Mazda light bulbs: “Why take the chance of getting 30% less for your money and of cheating your eyesight by using inferior substitutes?” GE bulbs weren’t cheaper–but they were worth the premium.
Tough times call for frank talk. One of the most striking trends in 1930s advertising was a change in attitude toward talking about value for money. If pre-1929 ads often made it seem as if price were no object, a few years later price was very much the subject–and no apologies. Take this 1937 Colgate Dental Cream headline: “Though it costs only half as much I like it twice as well.”
Value and aspiration can go hand in hand. In the Great Depression, even upscale products were pitched on value. Premium products possessed the kind of “durability” or “reliability” that justified its higher price. Take this LaSalle ad from 1933: “The standard five-passenger sedan is now reduced to $2,245–a price most attractively reasonable for a car of Cadillac design, Cadillac construction and genuine Cadillac quality.”
Value can make lower-priced or mid-market alternatives socially acceptable. One particularly popular tactic was to present glamorous Hollywood stars as users of less-than-glamorous products: “Why should I buy an expensive car when the new Dodge offers such unusual beauty and economy?” says Ginger Rogers in a 1936 Dodge ad. If a Dodge was good enough for Ginger Rogers, and a DeSoto for Carol Lombard or Spencer Tracy, then who were self-conscious middle-class consumers to argue?
The Holy Grail: Save them money. The campaign for the 1937 Lincoln-Zephyr V-12 zeroed in on what passed for fuel efficiency at the time: “This is the car, Lincoln-built, in which a Louisiana owner drove 12,000 miles across country [averaging] 17 miles per gallon. The Lincoln-Zephyr is priced well below its specifications!” Westinghouse fridges touted their Meat-Keeper compartment as a cost-saving device: “One: Saves Food. Two: Saves Time. Three: Saves Money. [And] 10 hours out of 12 it uses no current at all.”
Give them a little something extra. It’s no coincidence that small giveaway items are called “value-adds.” The most famous in the ’30s was Depression glass. Starting in the late ’20s, glass was being mass-produced cheaply for the first time. By the middle of the decade, companies from movie theaters to food manufacturers gave away glass tableware. To motivate repeat buying, they often gave items of a set. General Mills’ Wheaties gave away a “Shirley Temple Occasion Dish, fashioned of exquisite sapphire blue ‘Scalloped’ glass,” while Bisquick offered the “Shirley Temple Child’s Mug.”
via Forbes.com.
