Abstract:
Advertisements sell more than the product on offer - they sell a complete ideology. Between
1900 and the 1960s, Australia's advertising industry was involved in a protracted campaign
to establish a nation of consumers. This study seeks to illustrate this process through an
examination of the rise and fall of thef actory image contained in press advertisements during
this period. The factory's outward appearance in these advertisements remained largely
unchanged. Its meaning, however, was periodically revised, demonstrating the image's
symbolic function. From being the face of a stable firm, the factory image grew to symbolise
industrial productivity and national development. Through the image of the factory, local
advertisers effectively integrated themselves, their wares, and consumerism with the notion
of Australian identity. A new identity emerged as the line between national and consumer
identities blurred - one that would also claim the factory as an image.
