Champion of the War Effort

In 1945, wartime America was in dire need of stanch supporters to help shore up the war effort by helping those who were helping their country. The stalwart men and women who were either fighting overseas or supporting the cause on the home front were in need of a champion. Who should they look to? Why, the beer company, of course.

Note the advertisement found at the following website:
http://www.gono.com/beermagazineads/budweiser/b30. jpg. (copy and paste the URL into your browser to view the ad).

The ad was originally printed in a magazine in 1945 (particular magazine and precise date not noted by source). The product being advertised is Budweiser Beer. Most notable, however, is the fact that there is no beer visible in the depicted scene. Rather than advertising the product directly, the purpose of the ad is to portray Anheuser Busch as an all-American company focused on supporting the working and fighting men and women of the country.

The scene of the advertisement depicts a woman and a young boy working in a kitchen. The woman is preparing a lunch for her husband to take to work, while the boy is stoking the fire in the stove. Outside the kitchen window, a large factory, presumably the husband's place of work, is visible. The wife is placing the lunch into a lunch pail.

There are many significant symbols evident in the scenes which portray the theme of the ad. First and foremost is the lunch pail. The heading of the text under the illustration reads, "More came Out of that Old Lunch Pail than went In," a statement which emphasizes the extraordinary work ethic of the man who owns the pail. Furthermore, it is a sign that signifies the extra-mile effort of all working Americans who did their part during the war.

The particular capitalization of certain words in this phrase is noteworthy. "Old Lunch Pail" is presented in capital letters, suggesting a thematic clich; the constant and hardworking American factory worker.

The depiction of the young boy is also significant. He is not simply present in the scene, but is portrayed in the act of stoking the fire, working. The mother is doing her part, preparing the lunch of her husband, who will soon be off to work at the factory. Thus, the family portrayed in the scene is not simply the nuclear American family. It represents the overall "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" work ethic that was characteristic of WWII-Era America.

However,

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