The New Yorker Magazine

The New Yorker

COVER ANALYSIS

Ð'* July, 1966 Ð'- The cover of the July 2nd, 1966 edition of The New Yorker includes artwork by Michael Getz. Displaying a show of patriotism, Getz uses the entire portion of the cover to present an illustration of an American flag hanging from the front of a typical upper-middle class designed home. However, other than the title of the magazine and the drawing itself, the only other printed words contained on the cover are the date of the issue and the price of the magazine; 35 cents.

Ð'* July, 1986 Ð'- The July 7th, 1986 edition of The New Yorker presents a cover with a cartoon illustration of a woman holding a very large birthday/celebration cake. Similar to the rhetoric of the 1966 issue, John Biechman uses the colors of red, white, and blue within the woman's dress to portray the patriotic feeling of our Independence Day, "The Fourth of July". In addition to the American flag colors within the woman's dress and garment Biechman includes a figure of the Statue of Liberty on top of the cake to further express a feeling of patriotism.

Ð'* July, 1996 Ð'- The July 8th, 1996 edition of The New Yorker once again includes the theme of nationalism with Jeremy Falcone's image of the Statue of Liberty holding a "sparkler" fire work in its hand. Interestingly enough Joseph Pulitzer, founder of The New York World & Pulitzer Prize, was partially responsible for obtaining the statue from the country of France. Pulitzer used his public influence and image to collect nickels & dimes from immigrants, convincing such immigrants the statue would be a symbol of their newly gained freedom. Moreover, even though the price of the magazine has gone from 35 cents in 1966 to $2.95 in 1996, the display and headline of the cover are exactly the same as they were thirty years before (i.e.: Plain and clear title of publication, no preview of articles included, and no running ads on the front page).

ADVERTISING ANALYSIS

*July, 1966

Ð'* Alcohol/Gin Ð'- A majority, if not over half of all the ads contained within the edition are pertaining to alcohol. In specific, gin appears to be the most popular and targeted liquor of the era, with the theme "Dryer is Better". Evidence of how predominant such a theme was is Gancia, an imported Italian Vermouth. Gancia is actually advertised as "drier than gin itself". Furthermore, most of the gin ads tend to be aimed at a high-culture interest, and are generally imported and distilled from England.

Ð'* Women's Clothing Ð'- Many of the ads within the publication contain women's clothing & beauty products, with an underlying intent to feed into the insecurities of women by creating additional needs within our American culture. For example, Bonwit's Shoulder Holder "could quite easily accommodate beach gear, cameras, flight essentials and more". Bonwit's uses the advertisement for a woman's purse to further promote the interest of such accessories as beach gear. Another example comes from Elizabeth Arden's ad for Secret Cover. Elizabeth Arden goes as far as to say, "This is the way legs should look right now Ð'- buffed to a silky finish".

Ð'* Foreign Travel Ð'- American airlines during the time period seem to have taken advantage of The New Yorker's focus on International product, culture, and art by appealing to the interest to travel overseas. Avianca, The Colombian International Airline, suggests to "buy your wife a glorious gift at Avianca". In somewhat of a hybrid advertisement appealing to both travel and women, Delta assures that "Lorraine Sommer, age 21, is an attractive stewardess candidate with an IQ of 120Ð'...but a warm heart and a helpful nature are the first things we look for".

*July, 1986

Ð'* Men's High Culture Ð'- Similar to the way a majority of the ads in the 60s were aimed at women's clothing and accessories, the July 1986 edition of The New Yorker appears as if it is aimed more at men's high-culture clothing. Ralph Lauren Polo has an ad for crocodile moccasins, Gucci advertises luxury watches, and Rolex portrays best selling author Fredrick Forsyth in a turtle neck and sports coat stating "Forsyth's novels and Forsyth's Rolex: Original Concepts, meticulously executed".

Ð'* Automobiles Ð'- Although the automobile had clearly been invented before the 1960s, it appears as if it would be a number of years before cars were heavily advertised in The New Yorker. With that said, a good amount of the cars within this edition of The New Yorker are foreign made and built. Such ads include BMW, Saab, and the Milano from Alfa Romeo. Alfa Romeo advertises its new vehicle with the title of "Power in the Hands of the Few", suggesting the Milano can only be enjoyed by those with high-culture taste. In addition, Saab uses the classic approach of needs & wants to appeal to its prospective customers, claiming "Saab. Needs and wants under one sunroof". Saab uses its intelligent advertising technique to appeal to those with a high-culture taste, while also attracting those individuals who are on a budget, or who are less privileged.

Ð'* Foreign/Imported Alcohol Ð'- Just as gin was the most heavily promoted alcohol in the 60s; foreign alcohol and beer have replaced gin as the most targeted of liquors. Heineken reminds American consumers that it is "America's Largest Selling Imported Beer", and Stolichnaya Vodka assures it is "The only Vodka imported from Russia". Guinness also uses a foreign theme to advertise its non-alcoholic brew Kaliber, promising that "Imported Never Tasted Better".

*July, Ð''96

Ð'* Automobiles Ð'- Comparable to the amount of car advertisements ran in The New Yorker during the 1980s, the July 8th edition of 1996 contains an overwhelming amount of automobile ads. However, it is apparent that most of the ads are from cars made domestically, and they are also presented as less luxurious than those foreign cars of the 80s. Toyota Camry displays such nationalism with the motto, "Best car built in America". The Jimmy SLT by the General Motors Company plays on its American identity by displaying the USA Olympic rings in the bottom right corner of its advertisement, for at the time GMC was an official sponsor