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Big Money and the Great Depression

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The Great Depression was a time in America where the unemployment rate rose to a quarter of Americans. This time was tough on all and it made people have to think outside of the box to survive and keep food on the table for their families. However, people with certain professions did not necessarily suffer extremely. William Benton, Arthur Robinson, and Dr. David Rossman all have different stories, but they have similar characteristics. All three men never took suicide as an answer and through hard-work and understanding where to cut their losses, they managed to profit. The biggest key to all three men’s success in the Great Depression is knowing where to invest their time and money and when to pull out concrete American dollars from the banks. William Benton was a pioneer of modern marketing and advertising. He survived through the Great Depression because he understood what the consumers wanted. He was young enough to think outside the box compared to the older businessmen of the time. William Benton made millions of dollars through the Great Depression by changing the status quo. During the early 1900s, much of advertising was only a picture with a long paragraph following the uses of a product. The advertising never truly spoke to the people and the advertising did not express to why someone needed that product. Mr. Benton capitalized on investments with Amos and Andy and the Muzak Corporation. He also capitalized on his contribution on the Maxwell House Show Boat. His intuition to buy Amos and Andy was revolutionary. William Benton knew that Amos and Andy would thrive on the radio because African-Americans were migrating massively to the North during the Great Depression. African-Americans were leaving the south more and more to pursue jobs in factories in the north. The Harlem Renaissance was in full swing in the 1930s and Amos and Andy was a premiere sitcom. He noticed that people often listened to Amos and Andy to relive the “good-ol-days,” when economic times where much better. He used this observation to his advantage with his role in Maxwell House Show Boat. He revolutionized the industry when he had two women playing one role. He had one highly attractive female read the lines of the role and another highly attractive female si

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