How We Advertised America

George Creel

The “Second Lines”

The Second Lines: Battle for Public Mind (3)“Back of the firing-line, back of the armies and navies…another struggle

waged with the same intensity and with equal significance attaching to its victories and defeats.”

“It was the fight for the minds of men, for the ‘conquest of their convictions.” (3)

The “Second Lines”

Public Opinion and the “Great War”American public was in large part opposed to US intervention in the First

World War.

Wilson: Anti-War Candidate (1916)Wilson ran for reelection in 1916 on the promise to keep the US out of the war, which had been raging on the Continent for almost two years.

The “Second Lines”

Public Opinion and the “Great War”When Wilson chose to enter the conflict in 1917, it then became necessary to

explain why he (and the nation’s political leaders, in general) felt compelled to break his pledge of non-interference.

Public Opinion Critical to War EffortFor these reasons, shaping public opinion played a more significant role in the WWI than it had in any previous war.

The “Second Lines”

Packaging the War: A War of ideasThe war was not simply a military contest but a conflict “between opposed

ideals and moral verdicts.”

Hearts and MindsThis battle would be a battle for the “hearts and minds” of the American public.

The “Second Lines”

Packaging the War: A War of ideas

End Public UncertaintyNeed to eradicate the confusion and uncertainty people feel about the war in

Europe.

Forge “One White-Hot Mass of Instinct”“What we had to have was no mere surface unity, but a passionate belief in

the justice of American cause that should weld the people…into one white-hot mass of instinct.”

Create a “War-Will”

The “Second Lines”

Packaging the War: A War of ideas and Cultures:

The Pitch:Contrast the

1) Threat of German Culturewith:

2) The purity, and popularity of the US War Effort.

The “Second Lines”

Packaging the War: A War of ideas and Cultures:

The Organization: Committee on Public Information (CPI)To organize the national propaganda effort, the government established a single committee, led by George Creel, known as the Committee on Public Information. It was also referred to as the “Creel Committee.”

Who was Creel?

The “Second Lines”

Packaging the War: A War of ideas and Cultures:

The CPI: Organizational ScopeThe work of the Committee was not only politically, but organizationally unprecedented.

CPI Dimensions:Staff: 150,000 (mostly volunteer)Budget: 6.8 million

The “Second Lines”

Packaging the War: A War of ideas and Cultures:

The Objective: Grassroots MobilizationThe CPI “reached deep into every American community” and “every corner of the civilized… [with] the full message of America Idealism.”

The “Second Lines”

Packaging the War: A War of ideas and Cultures:

The Plan:

1) Pamphlet Outlining Amer. Ideals2) Coordinated Communication:

a. Speaking Divisionb. Public War Exhibitsc. Advertising Campaignd. Press Strategyf. Posters/Art

The “Second Lines”

Packaging the War: A War of ideas and Cultures:

a. Speaking Division1) Speaking Tours2) 75, 000 Speakers3) 755,190 speeches, 5200 communities

b. Public War Exhibits1) Every State Fair2) Chicago: 2 million attended3) Raised $ 1.4 million

The “Second Lines”

Packaging the War: A War of ideas and Cultures

c. Advertising Campaign:1) Press, Periodical2) Still Photography3) Film/Movie reels

d. Press Strategy:1) Official newspaper: 100k daily circulation2) Nationally syndicated columns, Op-eds3) Embedded Reporters (“permit system,” 9)

f. Posters/Art:1) Created over 1400 prints