Advertising and the Saturday Evening Post
The magazine industry in the early stages of the twentienth century
was profoundly affected by changes in the American economy, particulary
the distrubution of goods which led to the growth of advertising (Peterson
p18). As the effects of the industrial revolution extended itself
throughout America, more producers of consumer goods sought to sell their
products to a national instead of local or regional audience. Magazines,
such as the SEP, were an effective tool to market consumer goods across
the nation. Advertising let publishers price their magazines
cheaply; they didn't need to make much of a profit from the general
buying public if enough advertising could be obtained. Through magazine
advertising, makers of new products such as the Eastman Kodak or the
Gillette safety razor gained acceptance for their
products earlier than they could have without such advertising (Peterson
p19).
See Robert Sherman's project on Automobiles
to see
how the development of mass consumer products tied into national
advertising and national magazines such as the SEP.