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Advertising, Activism, and the Battle Over the Us Federal CRISIS OF CONSUMERISM: ADVERTISING, ACTIVISM, AND THE BATTLE OVER THE U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, 1969–1980 BY MOLLY NIESEN DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communications in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2013 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor John Nerone, Chair Assistant Professor Amanda Ciafone Professor Robert W. McChesney Associate Professor Inger L. Stole ABSTRACT This dissertation chronicles battles over the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s regulatory powers, which took place from 1969 through 1980. Following a scathing report by consumer activist Ralph Nader, Nixon revitalized what had come to be known as “the little old lady of Pennsylvania Avenue,” and transformed the FTC into the most powerful regulatory agency in Washington. During the period, consumer right’s activists pressured government officials to significantly strengthen the agency’s power to regulate the U.S. telecommunications system and the structure of the U.S. economy as a whole. The FTC’s policies initiated to make advertisers accountable for false claims, as well as those that would limit advertising to children, were all a result of vigorous debates about how the U.S. media should serve in public interest. Using Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony as a theoretical lens, this dissertation reveals the ways in which the Federal Trade Commission’s regulatory renaissance was evidence of an important moment of hegemony. Congress cemented and extended the FTC’s power in 1975 through a series of extraordinary legislative actions. Bolstered by these new laws, in 1977 the FTC voted unanimously for rulemaking to significantly limit advertising to children. These changes mostly took business leaders by surprise, and corporate America found itself on the defensive side of a debate with far-reaching consequences. By 1980, the national policy agenda was increasingly pro-business and effectively reduced the expansion of the welfare state: it favored management over labor, dismantled social welfare programs, and deregulated major industries—a shift generally referred to as neoliberalism. Chapter 1 describes the origins of the advertising reform movement, which began to ferment during the 1960s. Chapter 2 chronicles Nixon’s revitalization of the FTC. Chapter 3 begins with ii Nixon’s second term when the FTC continued to gain bipartisan approval and public credibility. The time period of Chapter 4 overlaps somewhat with Chapters 3 and 5. This chapter describes the public relations tactics used by businesses to combat the regulatory reinforcement of the FTC and redirect policies in its favor. Chapter 5 describes in detail the most notorious aspects of the FTC during the 1970s when the FTC attempted to ban advertising to children in its oft called “kidvid crusade.” iii To Finnegan & Sebastian. I love you. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation could not have been written without the support of my professors, colleagues, and friends. The chair of my dissertation, Dr. John Nerone, was all three. Dr. Nerone painstakingly edited my dissertation and provided vital insights. Although I doubted myself, he always conveyed to me his belief that my project was important. Without his unyielding faith and dedication, I could not have finished. It was in Dr. Nerone’s graduate seminar that I first developed the mythological and theoretical tools for this project. Dr. Nerone took the students out of the classroom and into the archives; it was this experience that piqued my passion for archival historical research. But above and beyond his intellectual involvement in this project, he was kind and supportive of me during a period in my life when I most needed it: as a single mom, writing a dissertation. I am so grateful to have him as my adviser and friend. I would also like to thank Dr. Robert W. McChesney for his contribution to this project. Dr. McChesney advised me in an independent study on the Political Economy of Communications, where I first became aware of the complexity and import of my field of study. Dr. McChesney’s work inspired me to look beyond accepted narratives, to overlooked yet critically important topics in media history. He also pushed me clarify the significance of my research, beyond its theoretical and historical elements. I was always impressed how quickly Dr. McChesney responded to a question over email, and how willing he was to attend to his students. My committee member Dr. Amanda Ciafone will forever serve as an example of how graduate students should be mentored. She made time for me, and helped me with v my dissertation, when it was most needed. My dissertation defense was her first, but anyone in the room would have assumed she had served on dozens of doctoral committees. Dr. Ciafone’s crucial insights will carry forth in helping me to extend the research contained in dissertation into a book. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my friend and mentor Dr. Inger Stole. Dr. Stole’s seminal critical work on the advertising industry during the 1930s served as inspiration for my own work, albeit in a different time period. Dr. Stole went above and beyond her role as a dissertation committee member, editing several of my chapters, and providing me with invaluable feedback. Along with my other committee members, she pushed me and guided me in right direction by forcing me to consider what made my work historically significant. Dr. Stole also provided me with crucial sources – her archives of trade press articles – which she had meticulously collected and catalogued. Without her generosity this research would not have been possible. In addition to my committee members, there are several other professors who supported me during my time as a PhD student, both in and out of classroom. This includes Professors Michelle Nelson, David Tewksbury, Cara Finnegan, Pat Gill, Ivy Glennon, Grace Giorgio, Kent Ono, Cameron McCarthy, Sharon Shavitt, Cele Otnes, Paula Triechler, Bruce Weber, Andrea Press, Dan Cook, and Linda Scott. I would like to thank the chair of the Institute of Communications Research, Dr. Angharad Valdivia, for her dedication to the future of the Institute and its graduate students. Denise Davis, the administrative assistant in the Institute, was always there to answer critical questions and lend a hand during the entire process. vi My fellow graduate students and friends were also a great source of support. I would like to thank: Sarah T. Roberts, Andrew Kennis, Kevin Healy, Myra Washington, Christina Ceisel, Caroline Nappo, John Anderson, Ergin Bulut, and Matt Crain. I would like to thank my friend Shannon Foreman for painstakingly copyediting my dissertation. I would like to also acknowledge my friend and colleague Alice Liao, who passed away unexpectedly in late spring 2013. Her loss profoundly affected the ICR community, and her worldwide network of friends and family. She will be greatly missed. I would also like to thank my parents, Robbie Tilley Niesen and Robert Niesen. My parents never shied from discussing politics at the dinner table; they took me to political events, and taught me the value of solidarity by never crossing, and often joining, the picket line. My parents helped me thinking critically, not cynically, about the world. And, it is these very values that formed the foundation of this work. I am also eternally grateful to Kathy Davis, Terry Davis, and Elena Davis who helped me with my son, Finnegan, as I wrote my dissertation. I would like to also thank my 3 sisters, Sky Niesen Smith, Mary Eccleston, and Susan Conway. Last but not least, I would like to thank my partner, Guilherme Del Nero Maia, “Gui,” for his kindness, his support, and his love. Gui’s commitment to our family and his encouragement of my career continues to amaze me. He treated and loved my son as his own, making him dinner, taking him to the park, and reading him books, so I could carve out time to write. He never assumed his own career was more important than mine, and never complained about taking time away from work for his number one priority, our family. Finally, my children continue to remind me why this research is important, and it is to that end that I dedicate my efforts, with love and gratitude, to my two children, Finnegan and Sebastian. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: THE U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, WAR OF POSITION, AND A CRISIS OF HEGEMONY ....................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: A REVOLUTION ON MADISON AVENUE: THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY AND THE ORIGINS OF THE ADVERTISING REFORM MOVEMENT, 1960–1970 ................................................................................................................................................ 37 CHAPTER 2: THE LITTLE OLD LADY HAS TEETH: THE FTC TARGETS THE ADVERTISING OLIGOPOLY COMPLEX, 1970–1973 ............................................................ 73 CHAPTER 3: THE FTC IN POLITICAL PARADOX: STRENGTHENING REGULATORS AND PROTECTING COMMERCIAL SPEECH, 1973–1976 .................. 116 CHAPTER 4: ECONOMICS (RE)EDUCATION: PUBLIC RELATIONS, ADVOCACY ADVERTISING, AND THE RIGHT TO REBUTTAL, 1976–1978 ........................................ 152 CHAPTER 5: FROM GRAY PANTHER TO NATIONAL NANNY: THE KIDVID CRUSADE AND THE ECLIPSE OF THE FTC, 1977–1980 ................................................... 186 CONCLUSION: RETHINKING THE LEGACY OF THE FTC ...........................................
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