Syphilis Ad Audience Analysis

Around the time of World War II, Syphilis was at an all time high in the U.S. American soldiers who were assigned overseas were often alone with a lot of free time and sought female companionship. This was how the spread of STDs increased. The government was struggling to combat the spread of the disease, which affected many soldier troops who would contract the disease and be unable to fight. This poster mainly targeted these soldiers and the people who came in contact with them, warning them not to fall into the trap of risky sexual behavior. We can assume that if the posters are offering a solution to this deadly disease, most people will react to it and go get penicillin. According to data analysis, as soon as syphilis reports bottom-out, other measures of risky sexual behavior (ex: teenage pregnancy, other STDs, etx) dramatically increase.

Janis Joplin's Audience Anylasis

Joplin’s following primarily consisted of hippies, many of whom were fans of folk and blues rock, a genre that stemmed from psychedelic rock. Many of the people who were into this music were very open minded and often tried to tap into the mind melting psychedelic effect that drugs could cause. These liberal thinkers were open to social issues and listened to many artists, such as Joplin, that would incorporate these issues into their music. The audience for “One Night Stand” was most likely already fans of Joplin and therefore probably were free thinkers who supported feminism and sexual freedom. If this song was performed at a festival, the attendants would have already supported progressive music and therefore were probably also supporters of ideals that Joplin’s song represented.

The demographic for many of Joplin’s fans were in there early to late 20s and would have loved to attend many festivals. One main festival that Joplin preformed in was the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. This festival took place in Monterey California where the performers played for free in order to donate the profits to charity. This further shows how the audience of artists like Joplin were ready to support social causes. When Joplin sang “One Night Stand” she would have been reaching out to her already supportive fans and reminding them that their desire for noncommittal sex was rational and progressive.