Chris Fleming (UWS) and John O'Carroll (Charles Sturt): Originary Economics and the Genesis of Advertising. From the latest issue of Business and Economic History On-Line, Stefan Schwarzkopf (QMUL): What Was Advertising? The Invention, Rise, Demise, and Disappearance of Advertising Concepts in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-century Europe and America; Eldon Bernstein (Lynn) and Fred Carstensen (UConn): An American Success Story — Keep it Simple: The Wiffle Ball, Inc.; Bryant Simon (Temple): Up-Close in the Flat World: Learning about the Global at a Local Starbucks in Singapore; and Corine Maitte (Paris): Labels, Brands, and Market Integration in the Modern Era. A review of The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture by Terry O’Reilly and Mike Tennant. Trying to ward off regulators, the ad industry has agreed on a standard icon to tell consumers what is happening. Like Kremlin censors, Starbucks regulates choice — and the distinction between the role of government and brands gets fuzzier all the time. Post-Advertising Advertising: The sacred membrane separating advertising and content has been torn apart. Is shopping all bad?: A review of Neal Lawson's All Consuming. In its practical effects, consumerism is a totalitarian system: it permeates every aspect of our lives. Have consumerism, suburbanization and a malevolent corporate-government partnership so beaten us down that we no longer have the will to save ourselves? Switching away from a capitalist ethic of consumerism continues to be easier said than done: It's our consumer-driven economy, stupid — oh, and the advertisers. Does expanded consumer consciousness signal the end of the traditional shopping mall?
