Globalizing Ideal Beauty: How Female Copywriters of the J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency Redefined Beauty for the Twentieth Century

215 Pages·2009·1.62 MB·English

by  Denise H. Sutton (auth.)

Globalizing Ideal Beauty
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Globalizing Ideal Beauty
How Female Copywriters of the
J. Walter Thompson Advertising
Agency Redefined Beauty
for the Twentieth Century
Denise H. Sutton
globalizing ideal beauty
Copyright © Denise H. Sutton, 2009.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-61174-0
All rights reserved.
First published in 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United
States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York,
NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the
world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers
Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-37678-0 ISBN 978-0-230-10043-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230100435
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sutton, Denise H.
Globalizing ideal beauty : how female copywriters of the J. Walter
Thompson advertising agency redefined beauty for the twentieth century /
Denise H. Sutton.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Women in the advertising industry—United States—History. 2. Women
in advertising—United States—History. 3. Beauty, Personal—United States—
History. 4. J. Walter Thompson Company Women’s Editorial Department. 5.
Advertising agencies—United States—History. I. Title.
HF5805.S87 2009
659.1092'2—dc22 2009004025
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Scribe Inc.
First edition: September 2009
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Peter, with love and gratitude.
And, in memory of my grandmother
Esther Dinse Stoskopf.
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: J. Walter Thompson’s Women’s Editorial
Department 1
1 From Suffrage to Soap: Helen Lansdowne Resor and
the Women’s Editorial Department 15
2 “Good Looks Supremacy”: Advertising an American
Ideal Beauty 45
3 Selling Prestige and Whiteness: Pond’s Cold Cream and
Pond’s Vanishing Cream Case Study 67
4 Selling Sex and Science: Woodbury’s Facial Soap Case Study 99
5 J. Walter Thompson’s International Expansion and the
Ideology of Civilization 123
6 J. Walter Thompson’s International Advertisements:
The Universal Appeal to Beauty 149
Notes 171
Bibliography 189
Index 199
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Illustrations
Figures
2.1 Pond’s, “Avoid Sunburn, Freckles and Chaps” 52
2.2 Lux, “The Modern Soap Product” 56
2.3 Lux, “Wonderful for Sweaters! Blouses! Stockings!” 57
2.4 Lux, “Won’t Redden Your Hands” 59
3.1 Pond’s, “Mrs. Nicholas Longworth” 85
3.2 Pond’s, “The Duchesse de Richelieu” 87
6.1 Pond’s, “Be Fair To Your Skin” 158
6.2 Pond’s, “Why Does Every Complexion Need Two
Face Creams?” 161
6.3 Pond’s, “How Lovely You Look Tomorrow Depends
on How Well You Clean Your Face Tonight” 167
Tables
3.1 Sales Increase Figures for Pond’s Cold Cream and
Vanishing Cream, 1910–15 74
3.2 Sales Increase Figures for Pond’s Cold Cream and
Vanishing Cream, 1916–23 75
3.3 Sales Increase Figures for Pond’s Cold Cream and
Vanishing Cream, 1923–30 79
4.1 Sales and Advertising for Woodbury’s Facial Soap
(cost incurred by Jergens), 1901–10 106
6.1 Pond’s International Sales 151