This is an advertisement for a chain of hotels in Europe in the 1930s.  It may seem strange that there is not a picture of a hotel or people on the poster.  Instead, one might think that the poster was an advertisement for a transportation company. 

Listed below the image of the car are the places where these hotels could be found.  The poster states that there are hotels in places such as Paris, Lyon, Nice, and Seville. Other areas in these three countries are listed as well.  Perhaps for this is why the forms of transportation are on the poster, to suggest that people should travel between “Les Grands Hotels Europeens”.

This poster was not created to last beyond the period it was created.  There is little information listed about the hotels, and no contact information.  Had this been designed to be a permanent record, there probably would have been more information regarding each hotel and the chain in general.  Perhaps they would have included who owns the hotels, when they were established, what kind of activities are around the hotels, or what was offered within the hotel itself.   Posters such as these are were not meant to last.  The purpose was to create a desire to explore more about what is being advertised.  However, the poster does live on and provides us with some interesting clues about life in the 1930s.

There are many ways a teacher could use this in a classroom.  When students view advertisements from different eras in history, they should be able to analyze the material.  First, students should be asked to decide what the poster is advertising according to the images on the posters or given the media being advertised.  Secondly, students could be asked to make inferences about the culture or general life style of people at the time.  For example, it can be concluded that people had the ability to travel at this time.  Furthermore, students can discuss advertizing techniques being used, which can lead to a discussion of how advertising works and how advertising can use both obvious and implied messages to get people interested in the product or service.  

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