Effect of Good Propaganda (part II)

Continuing with the list of incredible mind controlling propaganda's list, these are some of the other posters that made a huge impact. 

Keep Calm and Carry On (1939)

Keep calm and milk a meme. It’s not often that a propaganda slogan translates particularly effectively into pop-culture, but in the case of this poster the switch has been made seamlessly. Designed as a morale boost for the British public in 1939 as the Second World War loomed ahead, “Keep Calm” wasn’t actually displayed during the conflict itself. In fact, most of the 2.5 million copies of the poster were pulped by 1940. When uncovered in the year 2000, however, the motto was still perfectly reflective of the UK’s stereotypical ‘stiff upper lip’.

Xu Ling: China (1950)

Anything the West can do, the East can do just as well. As caricatured and exaggerated as anything seen Stateside, this bloody massacre of a message sees the Chinese public warned against the Western “Imperialist” way. A less than friendly U.S. General Douglas MacArthur has U.S. war crimes placed literally into his hands, while the bombs that had become synonymous with America post-WWII destroy a Chinese factory. Released at the beginning of the Korean Conflict, there’s nothing ‘cold’ about this hellish cold war scene.

Daddy, What did YOU do in the Great War? (1915)

An atypically complex example of British First World War propaganda, this poster delivered a powder keg of emotional blackmail and guilt. Prior to the introduction of conscription in 1916, the British war effort relied upon volunteers, supplies of which had peaked in 1914. Devised by Arthur Gunn and artist Savile Lumley, the poster was aimed at recruiting otherwise uninvolved but able men into the war. The “Daddy” poster was so effective, in fact, that Gunn himself volunteered soon after; however, Lumley would apparently disown the work following the end of the war.

We Can Do It! (1943)

Although only produced for the workforce of one single company, ‘Rosie the Riveter’ has had us rolling up our sleeves for years! J. Howard Miller created the now iconic image, thought to be based on factory worker Geraldine Hoff, to inspire the employees at Westinghouse Electric to keep churning out plastic helmet liners for the U.S. war effort. Since its resurfacing in the 1980s, the image has come to stand for all manner of motivational purposes, especially and most obviously among feminist and women’s groups.

I Want You (1917)

We end our list with some full-on, unapologetic tugging at one nation’s patriotic heartstrings! Although Uncle Sam imagery had been in use since at least 1812, it was this 1917 poster, used for the recruitment drive in both the First and Second World Wars, that made him an icon. Effectively a remake of an equally iconic British recruitment poster – which featured Lord Kitchener – the James Montgomery Flagg-designed poster is proof to the power of eye contact. No self-respecting man would take a stare down from Uncle Sam and turn away from their duties! For good or bad, he wants YOU.