Description
Book SynopsisIt hasn't occurred to even the harshest critics of advertising since the 1930s to regulate advertising as extensively as its earliest opponents almost succeeded in doing. This title examines how these consumer activists sought to limit the influence of corporate powers by rallying popular support to moderate and transform advertising.
Trade Review"Inger L. Stole has written a compelling history of the substantive consumer movement in the 1930s the pushed for Congressional regulations on advertising. . . . and illuminates an important historical struggle here that stands on its own, delivering a strong argument about activism and power that has human and democratic implications for society." --
American Journalism"Explores a both fascinating and important period in American advertising and public relations. . . . Readable and insightful study."--
Communication Booknotes Quarterly"An important contribution to the exciting field of consumer history. . . . Stole's meticulously researched study reminds us that the ascendancy of advertising as a dominant institution in American society was not without significant resistance."--
Business History Review"Well grounded in primary and secondary sources, this work makes an original contribution in arguing that the central role of advertising in the US economy justifies public policy debate of the need for accurate, honest advertising now as in the 1930s, and for the radicalism of consumer movement attempting to rein in advertising. Highly recommended."--
Choice"That history [of commercial advertising] is told in Inger L. Stole's carefully researched and well-written story of the struggles among consumer advocates, advertisers, and government agencies over what federal legal constraints should apply to deceptive ads, especially for life-threatening products. . . . Both historians of consumer culture and activists who would undertake a new consumer movement will find Stole's book useful."--
Journal of American History"By examining the records of leading consumer movement groups and advertising associations, as well as key business journals like
Printers' Ink and
Advertising Age, [Stole] skillfully depicts an intense battle over the responsibilities of advertising in American society, waged both in the halls of Congress and the court of public opinion. . . . An important contribution to the study of American consumerism."--
American Historical ReviewTable of ContentsPreface vii 1. The Rise of a Corporate Culture: Early Consumer Response 1
2. Advertising Challenged: The Creation of Consumer's Research Inc. and the Rise of the 1930s Consumer Movement 21
3. The Drive for Federal Advertising Regulation, 1933-35 49
4. A Consumer Movement Divided: The Birth of Consumers Union of the United States Inc. 80
5. Defining the Consumer Agenda: The Business Community Joins the Fray 106
6. Legislative Closure: The Wheeler-Lea Amendment 138
7. Red-Baiting the Consumer Movement 159 Epilogue 185
Appendix A: Key Players 199
Appendix B: Legislative Developments, 1933-38 205
Notes 209
