“It’s fun to ride Southern Pacific streamliners” blares out the ad on the front cover of this timetable. To prove it, the ad is accompanied by a photo of a young woman laughing with two older men in a lounge car. Is this supposed to imply that men could meet cute, younger women on the trains?
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Note, however, that the ad specifically said that streamliners were fun to ride. Apparently, riding the Gold Coast, Imperial, or Argonaut wasn’t much fun even though those trains also had lounge cars. And completely forget about having fun on the Klamath, Owl, or other heavyweight trains that didn’t even have lounge cars. The ad didn’t specify whether those trains were deficient in fun due to a lack of young women or a lack of older men.
Two purposes for this ad:
1. By showing a young, attractive woman it is intended to suggest that train travel is not just for older people.
2. The subliminal message aimed at middle aged men is “travel on our trains and you might meet an attractive stranger who’s willing to sleep with you.”