Today in 1920s Turkey: 7 April 1927 (Become Healthy and Strong with “Oxyhemoglobin”)

(Advertisement, Akbaba or “Vulture/White-Bearded Old Man,” 7 April 1927, no. 452, page 4.)

Türkçe
Muallim Kimyager Mustafa Hakkı Bey’in Oksi Emuglobin şurubu herkese sıhhat ve kuvvet bahşeder. Bütün eczanelerden talep ediniz.

English
The chemist, Teacher Mustafa Hakkı Bey’s Oxyhemoglobin syrup endows everyone with health and strength. Request it from all pharmacies.

Comments:
Advertisements are one way that newspapers and journals offset the cost of printing. They also provide valuable insights into both the products and the persuasive techniques employed by businesses to sell their goods. Often located on the last page of the paper, advertisements of this period employed a mixture of text and image in their attempt to stand out from other ads and attract the attention of readers (aka potential consumers). Striking images in addition to various text-based spacing techniques and the strategic use of different sizes and styles of typeface typically work together to frame information regarding a commodity in an appealing and compelling fashion.

The current advertisement is centered around an arresting illustration of a shirtless, muscular man heroically breaking a set of chains that once bound his wrists. As the text makes clear, the product in question is a supplement in the form of a liquid syrup. The medicinal concoction, created by a master chemist, promises to enhance “health and strength,” and is aimed at a male clientele (hence the muscular man in the picture). Instead of featuring a picture of the syrup, this ad features an image of the supplement’s desired effect: a strong, agile, and attractive body.

The announcement provides information about where to acquire this product, namely in pharmacies. Both the pharmacy setting as well as the assertion that the syrup was produced scientifically, by a chemist adds validity and legitimacy to the product’s claims of efficacy. Its name, “Oxyhemoglobin” received the greatest emphasis of all the text as a larger, bold typeface (line 2) is used for it, suggesting that brand recognition is an important factor in moving luxury or nonessential products out of stores and into homes.

The current page also includes ads for novels, tea, the lottery, and Aspirin (see image of full page below). Other advertisements considered by Today in 1920s Turkey include those for records and gramophones, automobiles, and male girdles. See:

70. His Master’s Voice Gramophones

74. Enhance Your Male Body With Roussel Belts

104. Early “Mercedes-Benz” Advertisement

157. Hands. Soft, Fragrant Hands…

(Entire page, Akbaba or “Vulture/White-Bearded Old Man,” 7 April 1927, no. 452, page 4. Hakkı Tarık Us Collection, Beyazıt Library, Istanbul.)

This article has been updated and modified from its first iteration published right here on Steemit on 6 April 2018. For the original version see:
144. Today in 1920s Turkey: 7 April 1927 (Become Healthy and Strong with “Oxyhemoglobin”)