The Uncle Sam Range firstly strikes me as very patriotic. There is a sickly amount of red, white and blue, and an American Eagle perched upon Uncle Sams shoulder. It is the centenary of their Independence. America is filled with pride here and it doesn't look like it's an advertisement for a range. Sat around the table there’s Uncle Sam, representing America, then 3 children, Dixie, West and New England. There’s also "the world", signing the Bill of Fare from the dinner party. This list viewed up close suggests that America is more culturally diverse than many countries that have been populated for thousands of years. It shows Ireland eating many variants of potato, and China eating things like ground grasshoppers and birds nests. America is enforcing its wealthy status upon the world.
This advertisement is aimed at middle class men. The cooker is not in the main frame and has been relegated to the left. It's not the mans job to cook for his family, and this is an American dream for a man. If the range were in the main frame it would appeal more to women, because that is what they were expected to do. The man is the main breadwinner in the family, he controls the household. These men are promised a better life if they consume. They will be able to support their family.
The second graphic image is a propaganda poster made during the first world war. It depicts a scene from many years later, when a man is sat with his children discussing The Great War. He is asked, "Daddy, what did YOU do in the great war?", and is looking sadly into the viewers eyes.
This poster is persuading people to join the forces by way of guilt. It is saying, "If you weren't part of the war - why not? Do your part. Your children will not be proud of you." This poster engages with the viewer, and makes them feel the same way as this man in the image. It's a confident poster. It describes the war as successful and great, even though at the time the result was far from certain. It tells the viewer that they will have a better life if they join the forces. The war will be won!
Both of these images were targeted at men. They touch on the masculine pride and the male duty to be a leader of the household. They are forms of propaganda, influencing their audience towards their cause (or cooker). They are both promising a better life to their audience - successfully winning the war, and a means to support their family. They each have a lack of women, which I think is a comment on the social structure of the time. Women were meant to cook and clean and please their husbands, and therefore do not need to be seen.
I think that the most striking difference between these is the cultural tone. America is very patriotic, happy and celebratory, saying that "if you buy this range, you could also be this happy!", whereas the British poster is more humble and persuasive. It uses guilt rather than pleasure influence people.
There is also no viewer engagement in the range advert. Everyone is busy at the dinner party, and are having too much fun to directly address the viewer, where as in the war poster there is a lot of engagement. The father is looking directly at the viewer, almost as a cry for help. He makes the viewer feel guilty, which is what the aim of the poster is. They need people to fight in the war, and this poster makes it out as their duty.
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