TV Dinner Advertisement Appeals:
Swanson TV Dinner Commercial From 1955
TV: The presence of TV's were becoming much larger in family homes. Even the fact that there was a TV advertisement shows how common they were, otherwise the choice of advertisement would solely be in paper form. Also the TV was now a central item of family life. The TV dinner put an even greater emphasis on the importance of the TV.
Time: Many of the advertisements had an emphasis on time. This not only shows that people had more obligations and activities to partake in, but also references the fact that time is running out to do things like have a family or get a job. The Baby Boom era had a value of family and having children, which all of the advertisements reminded people of this.
Easiness: The ease of the cooking process and clean up shows the new role women have. Although women are still "supposed" to do the cooking and cleaning, the fact that there is a need for easier and less time consuming household jobs for women show that women have a greater role in society as well.
President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan photographed eating dinner on TV trays
Family: Family was also a central theme of the Baby Boom era. The fact that the president, President Reagan, is photographed sitting in his living room with a TV tray and his wife eating dinner, further shows the value of family.
Overall the TV dinners show how busy family life was, as there wasn't even time to cook, eat, and clean meals. It also shows us the importance of the design of products during this time period. The TV dinners also show that food was able to be prepared with enough preservatives and chemicals to keep it safe to eat at a later point. The aluminum in the tray shows that the metal technology had greatly improved as well.