Justifying British advertising in war and austerity, 1939-51

Haughton, Philippa 2017. Justifying British advertising in war and austerity, 1939-51. Twentieth Century British History 28 (3) , pp. 390-413. 10.1093/tcbh/hwx031

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Abstract

Drawing together institutional papers, the trade- and national-press, and MassObservation documents, this article examines the changing ways that the Advertising Association justified commercial advertising from 1939 to 1951. It argues that the ability to repeatedly re-conceptualise the social and economic purposes of advertising was central to the industry’s survival and revival during the years of war and austerity. This matters because the survival and revival of commercial advertising helps to explain the composition of the post-war mixed economy and the emergence of a consumer culture that became the ‘golden age’ of capitalism. While commercial advertising’s role in supporting periods of affluence is well documented, much less is known about its relationship with war and austerity. This omission is problematic. Advertising was only able to shape the 1950s and 1960s economy because its corporate structures remained intact during the 1940s, as the industry withstood the challenges of wartime and the difficulties presented under Attlee’s government. Recognising the deliberate attempts of advertising people to promote a role for commercial advertising invites us to reconsider the inevitability of post-war affluence, while offering fresh insight into the debate around consumer education, freedom of choice, and the centrality of advertising and communication in democratic society: issues central to the society Britain was, and hoped to become.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	0955-2359
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	24 January 2018
Date of Acceptance:	12 June 2017
Last Modified:	07 Nov 2023 05:29
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/108376

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