Over the Weekend: Miracle on the Delaware

https://archive.org/details/0206_Miracle_on_the_Delaware_01_10_36_00

          I chose to watch a video within the commercial section because I thought it would be interesting to compare old techniques of advertising to modern day techniques.  I watched the video "Miracle on the Delaware" which is a ten minute long video providing a glimpse of Philadelphia and its neighboring towns in the 1950s.  At this time, Philadelphia and neighboring towns that also border the Delaware River are growing rapidly and having a lot of success.  The video features panoramic views and clips of people living in the city with a voiceover explaining the city's benefits.  The first part of the video focuses on the job opportunities that the booming steel industry and the large ports provide for the people living there.  The narrator emphasizes how it ensures steady employment for the more skilled workers.  Then, the video shifts to talking about the benefits the area has for the people's lifestyles.  Besides having great luxuries, the video paints a picture of how Sundays in Philadelphia would feel by showing common people laughing, relaxing, and walking out of church.  After finishing the film, I concluded that Philadelphia was considered a very ideal place to live with plenty of opportunities and activities.  Then I read the comments on the film and most reviewers believed it was the most prosperous time period especially for that city and since then, the city has somewhat deteriorated.
          The video utilized some very good advertising tactics like maintaining a very positive, glowing attitude about the city at all times.  I think it was very effective that the video focused on what sort of lifestyle someone living there could have because consumers are generally looking for a certain type of lifestyle.  The video had a lot of elements that are still used in modern day advertising like cheerful music, dramatic shots, and candid clips.  However, a lot of characteristics of the commercial would no longer be effective.  First, a commercial lasting ten minutes is quite long and would not be able to hold the audience's attention for long.  Also, the narration was pretty dry and could possibly put someone to sleep.  I recognized many ways in which this video related to the modern information society.  This video was released in 1955 in the midst of the post industrial time period.  Just as the post-industrial service economy was typically characterized by huge industrial growth and the use of more high skilled workers, the video highlights how there is steady employment and also mentions "only for the racketeers is there very little work".  It was really cool to witness how society has changed and how advertising techniques have as well.