Contents of the 1927 volume of Ladies’ Home Journal

by Eneida Ruisanchez, Psychology and Criminal Justice Major, Fairleigh Dickinson University

The volume I analyzed was Volume 44 which focused on all the issues made during the year 1927. I noticed that between every monthly issue, dentistry, youth, and beauty all seemed to be the most popular genres for advertisements when regarding health.

Trends by Month

The first issue, January’s, was probably the one that contained the most dental health related advertisements.
February contained a lot of dentistry as well yet it seemed that another health concern had risen at the time. There were multiple advertisements that were related to indigestion and constipation. Health advertisements for this time mostly targeted foods and medications that were intended for the gut such as Yeast and Nujol. These advertisements occurred more than once. Yeast is a product that is still used today but is not really advertised anymore. Most households contain it and it is a known product for baking.

Nujol on the other hand was used as a laxative back then. Now, it is mostly kept in laboratories and hardly encouraged for its previous use.

The issues distributed for the months of March, April, and May back in 1927 consisted of similar advertisements with narratives being slightly longer than in previous months. The issues for the months June, July, and August continued the trend of dental care along with advertisements for Nujol. Slightly different from previous issues, these advertised products that involved children’s health and sunburn relief which is probably due to the heat of summertime. The rest of the issues, up to November, had contained health advertisements related to weight gain, dental care, and skin care which is similar to that of winter and springtime. December was the only month that contained hardly any medical advertisements which is likely due to the holidays and the focus on gift giving.

Common Products: Ipana

One of the most commonly advertised products within the whole volume would have to be Ipana toothpaste. It was not too surprising that a dental product would be one of the most advertised but it was interesting to see the placement of these advertisements. Ipana toothpaste advertisements were usually placed at the last page of most issues in Volume 44. They typically advertised the gums as not being properly stimulated and Ipana being the solution for healthy gums and teeth. When looking for a comparison on what Ipana is advertised like today, I found out that Ipana toothpaste was discontinued in the 1970s as the company was choosing to rebrand. Their company had decided to focus on pharmaceuticals instead. Therefore, Ipana is no longer sold in stores today.

Common Products: Listerine

Another popular advertisement in most issues for Volume 44 would have to be those related to Listerine. This was probably the most interesting advertisement I found. Today, we advertise Listerine as a mouthwash and it is usually advertised before a youtube video, on television, or other applications on devices such as a phone. Throughout the issues in 1927 though, Listerine was advertised for more than just a mouthwash and halitosis. It was said to be good for the skin and scalp. For skin-specific Listerine advertisements, Listerine was considered to be good for closing up pores and maintaining a youthful look for the face. It was basically used as a beauty product and referred to as an astringent. When it was advertised for the scalp, it was said to be a great way to remove dandruff, keep the scalp young, and to keep the scalp healthy.

Conclusion

This research provides a good understanding on how differently we advertised health related products back then as opposed to now. This can be seen not only through the products but the target audience which tended to be women. Not only are the methods different, but the way in which some products were used. Listerine especially surprised me with the different ways it was used. It really was interesting to see how it was considered to be a multipurpose product especially with the knowledge I have about the product now. Overall, there is so much one can learn about health over time!