| Description |
Many American advertising cards in the nineteenth century displayed a variety of visual and rhetorical themes to foster the attention of potential consumers. The appealing elements these cards displayed convinced the public that these easily disposable ephemera pieces were worthy of preservation. In this card for Dr. Jayne's Expectorant, three advertising tropes which can be observed include eye-catching design features, the inclusion of children, and the imagery medical advertisers used to make their remedial products seem more trustworthy.
Printed trade cards which featured appealing designs and imagery were more likely to be
recognized by the American public and, therefore, generate brand recognition for the
producing company. Scenes with exotic, eye-catching, and even fantastical qualities were often implemented into these cards. This portrayal was meant to suggest that the advertised product, as opposed to similar items from other brands, was of high quality and perhaps even supernatural in its effectiveness. This card pictures a boy and girl in front of a gypsy woman, the girl having her palm read. As this advertisement includes a gypsy, an exonym and slur for a Romanian, American consumers may have considered Dr. Jayne’s wares to be from a faraway land and, therefore, valuable.
Children were terrific advertising tools in American trade cards, with producers often using charming images of young people to increase consumer sentiments and facilitate a positive reputation for their brands. Also, these children were often depicted as engaging in consumer lifestyles, a trend that their peers found inspiring. Additionally, some advertisers used sympathy for children–often depicting them as downtrodden or impoverished–to advertise the negative issues of industrialized society. This card demonstrates this trend by including an image of a boy and a girl observing as a gypsy woman reads a palm. This scene of child-like wonder and adventure is intended to help facilitate favorable attention from consumers.
As many Americans practiced self-medication and distrusted medical professionals, patent
medicine companies were the largest distributors of domestic trade cards. Public ignorance of healthy habits and a lack of advertising regulations on trade cards allowed medical advertisers to make exaggerated and untruthful claims on the beneficial qualities of their products. This marketing approach resulted in great profits for the sellers, but also fostered the prevalence of disease and other illnesses. This card is an example of this trend because it includes the appealing imagery of children receiving fortunes to convince consumers that the remedy advertised supposedly produces effects which are, overall, positive and healing.
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| Bibliography |
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