This colorful ad is representative of EMD's ad campaign in the post World War Two years. The usual well executed artwork remained, but the slant of the ads changed. The war was over, times were better, and not just for the country but for EMD as well. While facing stiff competition from the other builders, EMD had retained its sales lead, and was looking to keep it in the future.
Ads during the war had mainly centered on the FT freight diesels. The usual mode was to depict the a set of brand new FT's, painted for a particular railroad in the ad. Along with this representation would be another, smaller painting of an ancient steam engine of the same road, from many years before. The angle was that the FT's were the new locomotives of the future, as important in this time as the depicted steamers were in their own time. Most of the ads did not bash steam, but merely presented the FT's as the new standard. But, in no uncertain terms, they indicated that EMD's diesel freighters were superior to steam locomotives.
Postwar, the new ads sought to depict the railroad's broad acceptance, and even preference, for EMD power above all other types, either steam or diesels of other makers. The above ad, depicting E7 passenger engines, is typical. The text speaks towards the large number of roads using EMD passenger engines, and of how many crack trains employ them. We also see their postwar slogan "The best trains follow General Motors locomotives", along with "Home of the diesel locomotive."
EMD's ads were not exactly subtle. They bragged of their success in the tough US railroad environment, as well they should have. Colorful too, their ads like this one indicated their determination to retain their number one locomotive builoder status in the US. |
