Advertising the United States:
Discovering America’s flagship through prints, posters, and advertisements
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“Cette Vie Atlantique.” Commissioned by United States Lines, 1961, Plaisir de France.
Image courtesy of The Archives of Advertising, SS United States: A History in Advertising 1951-1968.
Americans weren’t the only ones who travelled on board the SS United States. This ad was created to attract French travelers to America’s Flagship. Celebrating the ship’s “typically American ambience” as “young and friendly,” it helped to shape the country’s postwar international image by teaching French viewers--even those who didn’t intend to buy a ticket--that Americans were youthful and good-spirited.
Other international ads, such as the British and German examples featured in this exhibition, similarly shaped perceptions of the United States.