Politics and technology in 1928 advertisement

Wandering around the Duke University Ad archives, I found this 1928 Chicago Tribune advertisement for a Zenith radio titled “At the conventions, you’ll always get the whispered ‘asides’ with a Zenith Radio.”

Not only the speeches and the voting — but the speaker’s whispered ‘aside’ — the fascinating by-play will be yours if you have a Zenith receiver — just as if you were at the Chairman’s right hand.

1928 was the first year radio played a roll in national politics. After conventions held in June, the election pitted Republican Herbert Hoover against Democrat Alfred E. Smith.

Funny how easily the word ‘blog’ could stand in today for that 1928 radio. The Zenith ad testifies that news technology and politics have always been entwined, and reminds us how eloquently ads describe the interplay of culture and material life.