C'est la guerre.... N'achetez que le nécessaire

A large white elephant with an 'À vendre' [for sale] tag looms over a small ordinary couple, the woman clasping her hands and the man looking up with his own hands behind his back; the text reads 'It's war.... Buy only what is necessary'. The poster is chiefly an instruction to curb spending; the one technique it uses is plain-folks, the everyday couple standing in for the viewer facing the unneeded purchase.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Plain folks

Date

1939

Period

Second World War

Made by

Service de l'information, Ministère des Services nationaux de guerre, Ottawa (authorised by Hon. J. T. Thorson, Minister of National War Services); artist McLaren

Region

North America

Country

Canada

Medium

Poster

Issuer type

State

Regime

Mackenzie King Government

Leader

William Lyon Mackenzie King

Audience

Domestic public

Purpose

Mobilize or secure compliance

Themes

Home front, Economy and finance

Event

World War II

Source

Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are

Source

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026

Rights

Public domain (Canadian Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired; no URAA restoration)
Service de l'information, Ministère des Services nationaux de guerre (Canada); artist McLaren. National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-801.

C'EST LA GUERRE....

À VENDRE

N'ACHETEZ QUE LE NÉCESSAIRE

[imprint:] PUBLIÉ PAR LE SERVICE DE L'INFORMATION, AVEC L'AUTORISATION DE L'HON. J. T. THORSON, MINISTRE DES SERVICES NATIONAUX DE GUERRE, OTTAWA  Imprimé au Cana[da]
[signature:] M Laren
[Translation: It's war.... For sale. Buy only what is necessary. Published by the Information Service, with the authorisation of the Hon. J. T. Thorson, Minister of National War Services, Ottawa. Printed in Cana[da].]