J. Howard Miller made several famous graphic posters for World War II; Miller was hired by Westinghouse Company to create several of these posters for the war ef-fort. One of these was the very famous known as the “We can do it!” poster. The ethos for this image is credible since this type of poster influenced many women to work and contribute during World War II by working in the factories on tasks where usually the males would work on before they left for the military, since then, images like this one have become iconic for women’s rights movements and empowering women to do more.
This image is a squared advertisement from around the 1940’s, it has a yellow background, usually, the color yellow symbolizes optimism, the woman takes up most of the image, since she is the focus of the advertisement and she is shown from the waist up. She is wearing a dark blue collar shirt, has a badge on the collar that has the face of a woman, usually this type of shirt is one that a man would wear for work. Her body is directed sideways, her face toward the front, and she holding a fist up and rolling up one of her sleeves showing her arm as if telling the observer that she is strong like a man and she is able to perform a man’s duties too. Her face shows determination and cou-rage as shown by the serious expression and arched eyebrows. Her hair is up and cov-ered by a red bandanna with white polka dots. This hairstyle was common for women during that time and this shows her feminist side, letting people know that she is a woman but yet she can do tasks that a male would do. Above her head there is a dark blue thought bubble that has the phrase “We Can do it!” in big white bold letters, this text gives out a sends out a feeling of power and inspiration to the advertisement. The yellow color on the background makes the woman stand out in the picture since she is wearing a dark blue color which gives a sense of trustworthiness, dependability and commitment towards what she wants to accomplish. When one sees the advertisement the attention is automatically drawn to her arm that has the rolled up sleeve, since it is what is mostly centered and emphasized, it creates a mood of motivation, determination and empowerment for women. The audience for this advertisement was obviously directed mostly towards women, but it could have also been intended to men showing them that women could do perform their tasks too. The text inside the thought bubble supports the rest of the visual of the woman in the picture; both the text and the picture go together to support the idea that this advertisement is trying to get across to women.
This type of advertisement was effective since many women around the time of the 1940’s did worked in factories replacing the males gone for the military and produc-ing supplies aiding to the war effort. This type of posters or advertisements played a big part in achieving this concept and helped out during the World War II period.
References
Doyle Jack (2009). Rosie the Riveter, 1942-1945. PopHistorydig.com retrieved from:
http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=we-can-do-it-poster
Miller Howard J. (Advertisement Creator). (1942) “We can do it!” [Advertisement]
Retrieved March 28, 2011 from: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/06/13/100-years-of-propaganda-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/
