A free exhibition looking at how advertising helped shape teenage culture in Britain is coming to Harrow later this month.
Teenage Kicks: Finding the Teenage Consumer will be held at London Gallery West at the University of Westminster’s Harrow campus in Northwick Park on 29 and 30 September.
How advertising targeted teenagers
The exhibition looks at how teenagers became a major new consumer group after the Second World War, with advertisers increasingly targeting young people through music, fashion, leisure and lifestyle products.
It will feature material from the History of Advertising Trust’s archive, which contains more than 10 million items.
Dr David Clampin, Education & Outreach Specialist at The History of Advertising Trust (HAT), said: “The teenager is one of the great inventions of the twentieth century, and advertising was one of its principal architects. What makes this exhibition so unique, is that it uses historic advertising not just as illustration, but as primary evidence: these campaigns tell us as much about the society that produced them as they do about the products they were selling.
“We’ve drawn on material from HAT’s extensive archive that most people have never seen, and we think it will surprise visitors – not just students and academics, but anyone who grew up being sold to, which is all of us. We can’t wait to welcome everyone.”
Free entry
The exhibition will also look at the influence of American culture on British teenagers, including rock ‘n’ roll, Hollywood, blue jeans and fast food.
It forms part of the History of Advertising Trust’s 50th anniversary celebrations and its national university tour.
Teenage Kicks will be open to the public on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 September at London Gallery West, University of Westminster, Watford Road, Northwick Park, HA1 3TP.
Entry is free, with opening times still to be confirmed.
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