Advertising in the Age of Persuasion Building Brand America, 1941-1961

by Spring, Dawn

• ISBN13: 9781137347176
• ISBN10: 1137347171
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-07-18
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

In the 1940s and 1950s, American advertisers began an unprecedented collaboration with corporations, media, the government, and organized religion. Their goal was nothing less than an American-led global consumer order, supported by advertising-based media, in which brands took precedence over the corporations that owned them, and advertising, propaganda, and public relations became indistinguishable. This history traces the remarkable story of how advertisers sought to ensure that they remained significant players in the postwar global order. Author Dawn Spring traces their efforts to build relationships across multiple sectors and develop the broad-based and influential media infrastructure that continues to undergird America's global presence today.

Author Biography

Dawn Spring is an independent designer and scholar dedicated to engaging popular audiences in history through digital history, digital humanities and entertainment, utilizing new media and technology to teach history. Spring teaches Native American and United States History exclusively online. She holds a PhD and MA in United States History from the University of Cincinnati and an MA in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research. Her research on American advertisers began under the guidance of her advisor Dr. Wayne Durrill, Dr. Christopher Phillips and Dr. Geoffrey Plank; with support from the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center and the University of Cincinnati University Research Council. She has worked with Theater for the New City and The Living Theatre, created interactive media with the Center for the Electronic Reconstruction of Historical and Archaeological Sites (CERHAS) at the University of Cincinnati's world renowned College of Design Architecture Art and Planning, DAAP, and participated in the NEH's first Humanities Gaming Institute.

Table of Contents

1. Persuaders in the Public Interest
2. Miracle, USA
3. The Brand Names Foundation's "Worthwhile Community Activity"
4. "Advertising - A New Weapon in the Worldwide Fight for Freedom"
5. Saving the World through Religious Revival
6. "The Crusade for Freedom"
7. One Nation, One World with Television
8. "The Conscience of America" and "The Arsenal of Persuasion"