World War I Poster, "I Want You for the Navy," 1917

During the First World War, artists widely used an innovative advertising technique for posters that moved away from a factual depiction of a product's material or event's subject to an emphasis on appealing to the viewer's emotions. On the surface, this poster promotes enlistment in the U.S. Navy. It shows a woman in an ersatz uniform jacket with the Navy's Yeomen (Female) insignia on her sleeve. Popularly known as the "Yeomanettes" it was the first major effort to recruit women as Naval staff in the United States. The emotional appeal is to young men and young women to join the Navy and fight for their country. At this time, parents raised most young women in America not to look men directly in the eyes. Many young people interpreted this depiction of a young woman looking directly at the viewer as sexual in nature. The brief text of the poster, "I Want You" further reinforces this emotional message. The nationally recognized artist, Howard Chandler Christy, made this and other recruiting posters for the U.S. government in 1917.