Printing annual reports and other publications is a long-standing tradition for American corporations. Providing the basic financial information of an annual report is typically mandated, but all of the extras – the year in review, the exciting updates, personnel announcements, and plans for the future – these all present opportunities for corporations to define and disseminate their company message.
This is particularly important during a time of war and we see this evident in the materials in the Lippincott Library collection of World War II corporate wartime publications. For the most part, these wartime publications are not annual reports. Many of them are special publications produced for employees and the general public with the goal of publicizing the work the company was doing for the war effort. These publications worked as a sort of advertisement or testimonial to the company’s craftsmanship and also highlighted the need for everyone to do their patriotic duty.
Companies took a variety of approaches in these publications, but it always came back to patriotic duty and the company’s contributions to the war effort. For example, the Gulf Oil Corporation’s publication, Power to Win, gave details on what the company was making and how the products were being used in the war. There is also a fascinating page where they tried to put rationing into perspective for people on the home front by explaining how much oil all of their military equipment used.
Rationing was framed as a patriotic act. The second paragraph notes “Every American accepts heartily the fact that military needs must come first and… our neighbors have accepted gasoline rationing, joked about it and enjoyed a certain pride in making this extra sacrifice toward winning the war.” (drawer 107)
Another great example comes from the GMC Truck & Coach Division of General Motors. This publication, entitled A Report from the Front, is entirely about the amphibious vehicles (also known as Ducks) and how their use aided forces in campaigns. Pages from this publication include photos of the Ducks in water and on land, as well as news reports of their involvement in military action.