Abstract

"Functional versus Image Advertising in Britain 1950 to 1989 and the Extent of the 'Creative Revolution'"

David Clampin, History of Advertising Trust (david.clampin@hatads.org.uk)

This paper investigates the ordinary, mundane and every day in British commercial press advertising: that frequently overshadowed by the exemplars which pick up the awards. Examining the period from 1950 through to 1989 it questions the reach and extent of the supposed “creative revolution”, challenging Wernick’s (1991) suggestion that by the end of the 1980s, advertising was predominantly focused on the emotions. The paper tests the extent of the “creative revolution” in UK press advertising by comparing the approach taken from c.1950 through to c.1989 according to the Designers and Art Directors’ (D&AD) Association award winners. The D&AD were considered arbiters of “good advertising” which they typically measured according to that which broke with convention. Focussing on award winners from 1970 through to 1989, the D&AD consistently found winners amongst the clothing and financial sectors. Taking these as potential sites of “creative revolution”, a detailed survey advertisements from c.1950 through to c.1989 is made to establish if there was “revolutionary” change through this time and to establish how widespread that was. Contrary to the suggestion that Britain was becoming a neoliberal society from the 1970s, this paper suggests that the shift suggested by Johar and Sirgy (1991) from ‘symbolic’ or ‘utilitarian (functional)’ advertising to ‘value-expressive (image)’ advertising was partial and limited. The research presented finds that contrary to the arguments of McKevitt, Nixon, Offer, and Wernick, there was no comprehensive and universal creative shift in the approach to advertising design from the late 1960s. The evidence presented suggests that the revolution was, at best, incomplete. Whilst, on the surface, advertising of the 1970s and 1980s might appear different from that of the 1940s and 1950s (literally more colourful at least) closer examination of the composition and make up reveals utility, function, and price were never entirely eclipsed.