How has advertising changed since the 40’s? Dramatically, I’d say.

As you can tell from this magazine clipping from the World War II era, aftermarket advertising was very different back then and retailers were doing just about anything to get people in their shops.

In the 40’s, tires like most things, were rationed. It was common for the average consumer to avert from having to settle for rationed items and instead focus their financial state on items that were necessary to human life.

So what does a shop owner do? Work for the consumer, of course. If a consumer doesn’t want my item, what can I do to make him need my item?

To this shop owner in Hollywood, the solution was simple. Launch an advertising campaign explaining why getting your brakes fixed up was necessary. The rational was as follows; bad breaks leads to bad tires, which lead to bad axles and poor performance, resulting in the consumer spending even more money than was needed before.

So the big question was: Do I spend money now, or wait and have to spend even more money later?

This tactic seemed to work and brought huge success for the ones who used it.