In my last blog post, I talked about how Uncle Sam was strategically designed to effectively target a certain audience to promote the idea of joining the US Army. In this, I am going to discuss how the timing, or kairos, of the poster was also a key factor in why it was so successful.
The poster was made by American artist James Montgomery around 1942, when it was used for World War I. This timing of the poster’s release is what made it so famous. If it was released during the 1920’s it wouldn’t have made as of an impact because the US was in a place of relative peace, but since it was created to inspire recruits for the US Army during World War I, it had a larger purpose as well as a larger impact.
The poster was also so successful during World War I that it was used again for World War II, which also showed that this advertisement was able to take advantage of kairos not once but twice during it’s time in circulation.
Even with perfect advertising strategies, like the symbolic patriotism, this poster would not have been able to make the mark on history that it did if it weren’t for the timing of its release into the public. With the people worried about the war, this poster was able to inspire the public to join the army to help fight for America’s freedom because the country needed them to, without the oncoming wars the advertisement wouldn’t have had the reaction that it did because there would be less motivation to join the army.
In the end, the Uncle Sam poster was able to utilize kairos in order provide further motivation for those in the public to join the army do to the war that the country was facing during that time.
Works Cited:
WWII Posters Aimed to Inspire, Encourage Service. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2020, from https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Features/Story/Article/1990131/wwii-posters-aimed-to-inspire-/
Macknik, S. (2018, July 04). An illusion to Celebrate Uncle Sam’s Birthday. Retrieved September 03, 2020, from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/illusion-chasers/an-illusion-to-celebrate-uncle-sams-birthday/
War definitely makes patriotic propaganda more effective because of the heightened sense of nationalism that goes with it. You clearly articulated how this timing affected the success of this poster.
War is one of those times that Karios can be proven to be crucial. I think the “Uncle Sam” poster proved just that. It got many people in the spirit for aiding their country.