WWII Ads & Hitler, Tojo & Mussolini

Well, WWII was a terrible time for this nation. My Dad was part of that Great Generation and fought in the Pacific. Why am I thinking about this? My 1943 Fortune magazine collection. See more like this at the Old Ad Store


I am reading the entire year during the evenings and reviewing advertisements. Our nation was amazing! Americans decided to do whatever it took to defeat the Axis nations. Industry mobilized and dedicated 100% of peacetime activities to manufacturing for soldiers.

I found that many companies used depictions of Hitler, Tojo and Mussolini in their ads.

The one to the left here is for Asbestos. At that time (and maybe now for all I know) there were only a few countries that had the raw materials necessary for asbestos...and they were all Anti-Axis. So no asbestos for German, Japan and Italy.

This illustration is by Arthur Szyk and the colors are gorgeous.

The Container Corporation of America (CCA) employed some of the greatest illustrators of the time including Jean Carlu.


This next ad is a CCA that is dropping a bomb on Hitler. It is captioned: Gift Packages for Hitler. There he is at the bottom of the page with a bomb headed for his nose.

Young Rubicam had an ad campaign that encouraged Americans not to believe, support or spread rumors. They wrote that rumor mongering was an important activity of the enemy.

Here is an ad that illustrates the concept.