Art Deco Advertising - Cruise Lines and other Transportation

Art Deco Advertising containing ocean liners and large vessels often had a very similar colour scheme - placid blues, warm and inviting reds, and the inevitable clean and crisp whites. These colours helped give a raw elements feel to the posters, as well as giving them an inviting presence due to the colours not coming off as so intense.

Illustration styles often
took two angles: the angle seen in the image to the left, which depicts the ship to have a faster presence, with the flowing of the flag and steam representing a 'wind-in-the-sails' effect that had been lost to the steam power that had taken over wind power alone many years previous. The angle gives the boat a triumphant, somewhat powerful stance within the poster, which helps appeal to the audience through drawing out feelings of awe and amazement that accompanied the world surrounding them. This era was the era of technological advancements in transportation in terms of both speed and visual appeal - everything was streamlined, which entailed the long and sleek bodies of vehicles and the trimmings of chrome to help enhance aerodynamics and overall performance. People were both fascinated and a little taken back by such structures, which matches the desired reaction that Disney awaits from each customer that experiences anything related to the brand. Disney wants the customer to feel the magic, the awe, the sparkle in their eye as they witness something amazing. The surrounding examples of ads capture this well, even if it's not in the context of Disney.


Another angle taken to represent a large ocean vessel in this era was front-facing. This, I feel, is what gives the ship a very triumphant, powerful presence within the ad. The vessel looks tall, strong, and sturdy. Though I do appreciate this representation, I feel that it holds too much of a masculine, intimidating atmosphere. To represent the brand in a positive manner, the angle of which the ship is presented is crucial; the brand must be represented in the correct way in order to appeal to a particular target audience. This angle however, appears too industrialised and less appealing in comparison to the previous vessel in the above image.

Art Deco and relating it to Walt Disney

I found there were many ways I could have connected the era and brand together to help make for a more successful advertisement, though if I were to reference Disney as a company from the 30's/40's I felt it would not capture the true Art Deco feeling. I wanted to bring an asset of Disney today, back to the heart of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne. My research provided me with disappointing finds, as in the 20's Disney worked for the Kansas City Film Ad Comapny, due to the struggle and lack of money generating from the short-lived company formed by himself and Iwerks in 1920. This left me to research into illustration styles associated with Streamline Moderne and Art Deco, as most print ads back then contained little photography, and I didn't want to stray away from the animated and somewhat unrealistically animated, magical and cartoon-like image that Disney holds.

I thought more about the magic associated with Disney as a company, and it lead me to consider the technological advancements that were made during the Streamline Moderne era. The air of fascination and amazements surrounds both the company of Walt Disney, as well as Streamline Moderne. In the 30's, people were fascinated and amazed by the new sleek-looking and rather technological modes of transportation that Streamline Moderne seemed to produce.

Once I began to consider modes of transportation, I was brought to an enlightening find - Disney Cruise Line. 

Disney Cruise Line 

Disney Cruise Line currently operates four ships: Disney Magic, Disney Wonder, Disney Dream, and Disney Fantasy.^[5] Disney Cruise Line also owns Castaway Cay, a private island in the Bahamas designed as an exclusive port of call for Disney's ships.^[6] Disney Cruise Line operates theDisney Cruise Line Terminal, which homeports Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. Disney Magic is homeported in Galveston, Texas, Barcelona, Spain, and Miami, Florida, while Disney Wonder is homeported in Vancouver, and Miami, Florida. In 2012, it is estimated Disney Cruise Lines will own nearly 3% share of the worldwide cruise market.^[7]

The Disney Cruise Line offers a variety of destinations including; Europe, Panama Canal, Caribbean, Alaska & Pacific Coast, Bahamas, and Transatlantic destinations.^[8]

The Brand - Walt Disney

Where It Began 

Walter Elias Disney, more popularly known as Walt Disney, was born December 5th, 1901. He dies December 15th 1966, having established himself as a major influential figure within American Animation, and eventually going on to establish himself throughout the world as an international icon regarding his influence and contributions within the 20th century as an Animator, Cartoonist, Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Entrepreneur, and Voice Actor.
 Alongside Walt stood his brother Roy O. Disney, who assisted in co-founding Walt Disney Productions with his brother. Walt Disney Productions later gained infamy as, and still is, one of the most widely known and successful motion picture production companies in the world today. Today, the company is known as The Walt Disney Company, accumulating an annual revenue of nearly $45 billion in 2013.  

What They Do

The Walt Disney Company is widely recognised by it's mascot and iconic character, Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse is a comical cartoon character, created by Walt himself and Ub Iwerks in 1928 at the Walt Disney Studios in Hollywood. Mickey typically wear bright red shorts, yellow shoes and bright white gloves - which would later become iconic to many of the Disney characters - and has become one of the most recognisable, famous cartoon characters in the world. During the single test screening of Plane Crazy, Mickey Mouse made his first appearance, though his first official debut was in a short film called Steamboat Willie in 1928 - which, coincidentally, was one of the first cartoons that also provided audio along with the visual animation. Mickey Mouse has starred in over 130 films to date, though many of the first films he starred in were short films, he would occasionally be found in feature-length films. Ten of the films that Mickey starred in were nominated for Academy Awards, all being for Best Animated Short Film.  One of these films won; in 1942, Lend a Paw won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. In 1978, Mickey was the first ever animated cartoon character to have his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He's that famous. 

These days, Disney has many assets. Few of which include Disney Consumer Products, Disney Resorts, Disney Theatrical Group, and even a growing list of Media Networks such as ABC Entertainment Group and ESPN. 

The Natural Progression - Streamline Moderne

From the movement of Art Deco in the 20’s/30’s, a sub-genre emerged in the form of Streamline Moderne. In the midst of the Wall Street crash in 1929, the companies that found themselves still left standing felt a rise in competition amongst other companies. The market was undoubtedly saturated, and manufacturers were left with no choice but to make their product all the more distinguishable from the next in line. At this time, though seeking a sense of distinction and individuality, manufacturers recruited designers who were all travelling down the same design pathway: Streamline Moderne. It is said that this form of architecture was sourced from the Bauhaus movement in Germany. Bauhaus is an expression in German, which translates to House for Building. In the year 1919, the German economy was in the midst of collapsing as a result of the First World War. Walter Gropius, an architect, was selected to head a new institution whose aim was to aid in rebuilding Germany and to help form a new social order. Named Bauhaus, the institution decided on the building of new social housing for workers. The housing was to be “rational”, with the Bauhaus architects rejecting ornamentation and architectural details such as eaves, cornices, and decoration. As seen above to the right, the architects aimed for classical architecture, taking buildings back to their purest form. The building shapes orientated largely around the use of curves and cones, keeping architecture simple, clean, and fit for purpose. This style, understandably, spread in popularity on a global scale, soon hitting America and Britain.

The Bauhaus movement provided a foundation for Streamline Moderne to build upon - no pun intended. 

 Streamline Moderne altered slightly from the Bauhaus movement, as it took a more aerodynamic approach to the structure of each object it touched. Objects influenced by this movement stood out hugely at this time, through characteristics such as horizontal orientation, rounded edges to the structure, the use of chrome, notably smooth exterior wall surfaces were found within architecture, which were often formed by a smooth plaster finish called Stucco. The use of contrasting colours within the architecture was also a contributing factor towards how boldly Streamline Moderne buildings stood out; base colours used on the buildings were often very light, earth-like tones. Crisp, luminous whites were no longer seen, as the base colour of the buildings was often very subdued and calm. The trim colours of the buildings were often darker and sometimes even bright, reflective chrome was used in order to contrast against the placid base.

Art Deco - How to get a smokin' body.

During the 1920’s, the well-being of American citizens steadily increased. Due to this, more attention was paid by the consumer to their own physical attraction. At this time, advertisers such as J. Walter Thompson began to use sex, emulation appeals, and more broadly fear as a method of selling hygiene products such as mouth wash, soap, and shaving cream to both men and women. The method of inducing fear amongst consumers mainly developed into a form of anxiety throughout women, making them conscious and worrisome of their abilities to sustain a relationship with a man, friends, and even maintaining a job.

Cigarette ads in particular at the time promoted health and well-being amongst women. To the right, Lucky Strike Cigarettes are seen to be promoting cigarettes as a replacement for sweets and other fattening foods. 
People socialised frequently; entering what were originally considered to be Men’s Clubs, Flappers represented the extravagance and level of perfection that women of that era could reach. At this time, women thought of it as a must to look perfect, which was a driving motivation to banish unsightly hygiene issues such as body odour, unappealing dental work, bad breath, and clothing that was not considered to be pristine. Once this method of advertising had made its impact, consumers felt the need to take care of themselves due to the fear of alienation; the compulsion of presenting one’s self perfectly was engraved on society. Once this happened, the advertising industry persuaded the consumers into buying dreams.
A popular example of this is the packaging of cigarettes at the time. These packets often featured ladies considered to be beautiful or even romantic scenes featuring both a man and a woman. Cigarettes were often sold on the ground that they promoted weight loss, and a slim, toned body shape could be achieved through consumption. Appealing voices were also promoted to women, who were convinced that the voice of a smoker would be considered alluring and desirable by men.This was undoubtedly used to the advertising industry's advantage, as seen in the ad to the above: Lucky Strike promoted their cigarettes to be cleaner and fresher, which was undoubtedly a false claim. This however boosted appeal to the target audience of women at the time. 

 

Chinese Culture - A little less fried rice, a little more Feng Shui

My advertising adventure has brought me to China, since the understanding of other cultures is crucial when advertising, why not start off with one of the worlds oldest? 

As I've just stated, China has one of the oldest cultures on the planet. It covers pretty much most of Eastern Asia, and so naturally a country of that size has varying customs depending on what province, city, or even town they are from. 

Identity

Today there are 56 distinct recognised ethnic groups in China. In terms of population, Han Chinese is the largest group of them all. Throughout the history of China, many groups have merged into neighbouring ethnicities or disappeared. At the same time, many within the Han identity have maintained distinct linguistic and regional cultural traditions. 

Regional

Traditional Chinese culture spans across large geographical territories, with each region being divided into sub-cultures. Each region is often represented by three ancestral items, however. Guangdong, a province on the south coast - also known as Canton or Kwangtung - had over 79.1 million permanent residents as of 2005, and 31 million migrants living there for at least six months a year. This hugely populated province is represented by chenpi, aged ginger, and hay. 

To the left: a map of china distinguishing all provinces, highlighting Guandong in red.


Colour 

In Chinese culture, colours are associated directly with Elements of earth. The elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. As well as this, five of the main colours are also associated with the following: direction, planets, heavenly creature, heavenly stems, phase, energy, season, climate, development (plants), livestock, fruit, and grain. 

Black
In Chinese culture, Black stands for the North. It corresponds directly with water and is considered a neutral colour. Ancient Chinese considered Black the Emperor of colours, as they believed Tian Di resided in the North Star. 

Red
Red corresponds with Fire, as expected. It symbolises good fortune and joy in Chinese culture. It is found in most places on Chinese New Year, as well as other holidays and family gatherings, on these special occasions a red envelope would be given as a gift, symbolising good luck. It is strictly forbidden at funerals, as it is typically a colour of happiness. 
In modern China, it is frequently associated and used by their communist government. 

Qing
Qing was a word that referred to the spectrum of colour that spanned from Green to Blue. The idea of the word Qing refers to the idea of sprouting plant life, although this was a traditional word used, and Chinese now have a separate word for Blue. 
Green is associated with the element of Wood, represents nature and renewal, and often indicates spring. It is used to imply vigour and vitality. It is also associated with health, prosperity, nausea, and harmony. 
Separately, Green hats are associated with infidelity and used as an idiom for a cuckold. This has caused uneasiness for Chinese Catholic Bishops, who would normally have a green hat above their coat of arms. Due to this, Chinese bishops have changed the colour of the hat to violet. 

White
White corresponds with Metal, representing gold and symbolising brightness, purity, and fulfilment. Despite this, it is also the colour of mourning. It is associated with death and is used predominantly at funerals in Chinese culture. 

Yellow
Yellow, corresponding with Earth, is considered the most beautiful and prestigious colour. The Chinese saying Yellow Generates Ying and Yang implies that yellow is the centre of everything. Associated with, but consequently ranked above brown, it signifies neutrality and good luck. It is sometimes paired with Red in place of Gold. 
It is also the mourning colour of Chinese Buddhists. 


Numbers 

Numbers in China are known to have positive or negative connotations depending largely on how they are pronounced. If a number sounds closely like a positive word, then naturally Chinese believe it is also positive. 

Two
The number 2 is most often considered a positive number, due to the saying Good Things Come in Pairs. It is very common to repeat characters in product brand names, such as double happiness. In Cantonese, two is homophone of characters for easy  and bright. In Northern China, the number, when used as an adjective, can also mean stupid. 

Three
As the number 3 sounds similar to the word used for Birth, it is naturally a positive number. It is also considered lucky. The number 3 is significant since there are three important stages in a man's life: Birth, Marriage, and Death. 

Five
The number 5 is associated with the five elements: Water, Fire, Earth, Wood, and Metal. In turn, it was also associated with the Emperor of China. For example, the Tiananmen gate leading to the Forbidden City, has five arches. 

Six
The number 6 in Cantonese represents wealth. In Mandarin, it is pronounced the same as the character representing flow, which therefore is believed it is good for business. 

Seven
The number 7 symbolises "togetherness". It is a lucky number for relationships. It is also recognised as the luckiest number in the West, and is one of the rare numbers that is great in both Chinese and many Western cultures. It is a lucky number in Chinese culture, because it sounds alike to the Chinese word meaning arise, and also life essence.

Forty Nine 
The number 49, the square of seven, is used in many Chinese Folk, Taoist, and Buddhist rituals. It is believed that a recently deceased person will linger in the living world for 49 days. Therefore a second requiem ritual is often performed at the end of the 49 days. Similarly, many rituals require the performer to undergo a 49 day cleansing and fasting etc. 

Eight
The number eight sounds similar to the word which means prosper, or wealth. There is also a visual resemblance between the digits 88 and the symbol which represents double joy. The number 8 is viewed as such an auspicious number that even being assigned a number with several digits is considered lucky. 
 In Chengdu, a telephone number with all digits being 8 sold for over £300,000. Most airline flights are listed with multiple 8's in their code, with Singapore airlines reserving flight numbers beginning with 8 for China and Korea only. 

Four 
The number four is associated largely with death,. Due to this, many numbered product lines skip out the number 4, some buildings skip out any floor with the number 4 included. 

This is not a post about Surrealist Advertising

And here, we see British Airways pay homage to one of the most iconic pieces of Surrealist art - The Treachery of Images. 

Painted by Belgian artist Rene Magritte, The Treachery of Images displays what appears to be a pipe. Below the pipe, the painting states "Leci n'est pas une pipe." which translates to "This is not a pipe".
Magritte did not shy away from speculation about his painting, and it's seemingly contradictory statement, and simply said the following:

The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No, it's just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture "This is a pipe", I'd have been lying!

 This view on paintings was considered quite odd, and such views turned out to be very positive exposure. This seemingly contradicting painting turned into, and still is, one of the most famous pieces of surrealist art to date. 

But why on earth did they use this as inspiration!? I hear you cry. Well, British Airways used this starting point to make a particular statement. They didn't want to be considered as just an airline, where you paid to ride on just a plane. The plane is simply a factor in your experience with British Airways, as explained in the print ad. Your time with British Airways is an experience, and the plane is what takes you there. 

Was the approach to the message the right approach? It's debatable. I feel that not many will get the reference, especially if you consider the target audience. Do business men have time to research into a Belgian artist from the 20th century? Maybe not. Do their lives cater for such interests? Perhaps no. Many arguments could be made about the suitability of the ad, but what is for sure is that they have referenced a classic piece of Surrealist art effectively and appropriately.