Design Stories: Exploring Everyday Things

Advertising of Torcan Fans

Some found advertisements for Torcan fans and temperature related appliances were advertised in a newspaper called the Lethbridge Herald in Alberta, dating between 1950 and 1965. While the advertisements do not include many images apart from illustrations of the fan itself and do not make direct implications on family, they play into the idea that electric utilities enable people to live more comfortably with more leisure time. This is seen through the text which market the fan to be “compact, efficient”, “attractively designed”, “sturdily built to last years and years”, while keeping “comfortably cool”. Phrases such as “Don’t let the heat get to you”, “Fan out summer heat”, and the mentioned locations where the fans are meant to be used suggest a way of living. This reveals the needs and ideals of the time period which influence how the fan is consumed.

With the role of women as homemakers in mind, some of these advertisements are geared to their need for household appliances that suit the family. An example of this is the illustrations of Torcan fans in these advertisements, which have remained in a similar style over the years. The simple line illustration possibly reflects the housewife mindset of prioritizing the object’s purpose in the household rather than its looks. The Father’s Day advertisements which market the Torcan fan as being a gift to “defeat the heat dad dislikes” also highlight how even though the fans are consumed by both genders, women and housewives are the ones purchasing the product for the good of the family.



View full newspaper pages for advertisements in the Lethbridge Herald:
July 6, 1950
July 25, 1950
August 3, 1950

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