The culture of consumption and the relationship between buyers and products changed radically in the victorian era. Shopping, previously perceived as a necessity, now turned into a pleasurable activity. With more people shopping, more products and different brands were now available in the market. The increase in the variety of available brands resulted in such brands having to compete for the buyer’s attention and approval. The competition, in turn, revolutionized the whole concept of advertisements, creating alongside with a new culture of consumption, a culture of propaganda.
The whole approach towards advertising had to be adjusted. What used to be small printed lists, printed in the back of the periodical press, had to now become something that could easily grab a shopper’s attention. Ads contained now illustrations that intended to lure a customer to its brand, many times targeted directly towards the consumer group they targeted. Brands carefully contrived their products to a specific target (men, women, middle class, upper class), and would create their ads accordingly. Instead of long texts, ads now had less writing, containing just enough information about the product and its benefits. Ads would not only insist on the outstanding quality of the product, but would also outline its necessity and its desirability.
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The caricature presents a picture of a lady in a shop with a salesman, with their dialogue in the bottom. In the dialogue, the lady, who just entered the shop, asks for “2 lb of Colman’s Starch, a box of Hinde’s Hair Curlers, a bottle of Rose’s Lime Juice, and a medium sized Albionette Stove.” The shopman then offers the lady the same products but from other brands, claiming they sell very well and are also cheaper. The lady refuses to buy products from other brands, and demands that the shopman follows her list