Not “Merely an Advertisement”: Purity, Trust, and Flour, 1880–1930

Abstract

This study examines how an integrated program of marketing communication (including advertising and public relations) addressed the purity of patent flour, a consumable attacked by the pure food movement and other health advocates for corrupt and contaminated production processes. Targeted to homemakers and commercial bakers alike, the promotional materials studied here examine the Gold Medal and Pillsbury brands from 1880 to 1930, a period that saw the rise of national brands, the growth of national advertising, the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, and the educational and regulatory efforts of the FDA. It was found that these companies responded to those criticisms and developed a long-term campaign that tapped into contemporary cultural concerns not only to sell product but also to educate consumers about purity, health values, and domestic success. In the process, these promotions also sought to build on a bond of trust in the product to trust in the brand and the company itself through traditional ad placements in targeted media and through initiatives that reached into consumers' homes and kitchens.