Major ArticlesAn analysis of 6 decades of hygiene-related advertising: 1940-2000*
Section snippets
Sample
Four magazines (Ladies' Home Journal , Good Housekeeping , Family Circle , and Reader's Digest ) were selected for analysis because they have been published for several decades and are widely read by individuals likely to be involved in home hygiene practices, such as homemakers. For convenience, data were collected from the January issues every fifth year (eg, 1940, 1945, 1950) based on the availability of the magazine. Advertisements in Good Housekeeping and Ladies' Home Journal were analyzed
Results
Numbers of advertisements by journal are summarized in Table 1. LHJ , Ladies' Home Journal; GH, GoodPeriod Percentage (No. hygiene ads/total ads) LHJ GH FC RD Total 1940-1955 13.9 (56/402) 21.5 (61/284) 9.3 (17/182) Not available 15.5 (134/868) 1960-1975 6.6 (19/290) 13.6 (38/279) 3.4 (10/295) 6.5 (14/215) 7.5 (81/1079) 1980-2000 9.1 (31/341) 11.1 (58/524) 8.9 (25/281) 6.4 (13/204) 9.4 (127/1350) Totals 10.3 (106/1033) 14.4 (157/1087) 6.9 (52/758) 6.4 (27/419) 10.4 (342/3297)
Social changes and hygiene marketing
The marketing of sanitary goods began in the late 1800s before wide acceptance of the germ theory of disease. As the germ theory attained greater acceptance, methods to identify microorganisms were developed, and aggressive public health campaigns to reduce infectious diseases such as tuberculosis fueled advertising campaigns for new and improved hygiene-related products during 1885 to 1915.10 By the early 1900s products such as ammonia, borax, and laundry and toilet soap were being heavily
Summary
Many have called for more scholarly attention to the role of advertising in transmitting public health messages.2, 5, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 Marketing campaigns, for example, have successfully contributed to combating tobacco consumption.27, 28, 29 It has been suggested that communication and collaboration between manufacturers and media are needed to inform consumers adequately about the benefits and risks of home hygiene products and for developing regulations concerning the definition of
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Food commercials during television soap operas: what is the nutrition message?
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On the nature and properties of appeals used in direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs
Psychol Rep
The making of a germ panic, then and now [see comments]
Am J Public Health
Cleanliness and the health revolution
Cited by (6)
Germ Free: Hygiene History and Consuming Antimicrobial and Antiseptic Products
2011, Innate Immune System of Skin and Oral Mucosa: Properties and Impact in Pharmaceutics, Cosmetics, and Personal Care ProductsA Social Marketing Approach to Building a Behavioral Intervention for Congenital Cytomegalovirus
2011, Health Promotion PracticeAdvertising with intended health purposes in Spanish radio. An empirical analysis by radio station type
2011, Communication and SocietyReliability for content analysis
2008, Media Messages and Public Health: A Decisions Approach to Content Analysis
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Reprint requests: Elaine L. Larson, RN, PhD, FAAN, CIC, Columbia University, School of Nursing, 630 W 168 St, Mailbox 6, New York, NY 10032.