Article

Journal of Macromarketing
2017, Vol. 37(4) 460-478
The Role of Marketing in Ritual Evolution ª The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0276146717697359
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Samantha N. N. Cross,1 Robert L. Harrison,2

and Mary C. Gilly3

Abstract
Thanksgiving in the U.S. is a ritual with shared meanings. This research evaluates the meanings of symbolic representations in
advertising to understand the role of the media in the construction, maintenance, and evolution of ritual celebration. Thanksgiving
advertisements published over a 99-year period are analyzed using a methodological mixture of semiotic analysis, historical
analysis and context-driven periodization. The result is a multi-layered understanding of inter-related aspects of advertising
history and the role of the media in the evolution of consumption ritual-making. Media are seen as agents for creating and
legitimizing cultural norms, adding to our appreciation of normative and cultural-cognitive practices in supporting evolving social
institutions. Findings show that marketers create and maintain the norms associated with Thanksgiving celebrations, while
reflecting and gradually shifting them, moving us to the next stage in the evolutionary process. This research also highlights how
cultural mythmaking strategies are employed and develop into historical brand narratives.

Keywords
ritual evolution, cultural mythmaking, Thanksgiving, institutional theory, brand narratives, macromarketing

Introduction origins of many contemporary holidays involve the promotion

Advertisers do more than sell products; they encode values,
rules, and beliefs found in society (Danesi 1999). They also
perform cultural work by making the categories of culture
visible and stable (Sherry 1987). More specifically, print adver-
tising often serves as an important historical record, a family
album of society (Belk and Pollay 1985). In addition to dis-
playing the values of the culture, advertising copy also articu-
lates the rationale for consumption. From image
representations in advertisements, researchers, marketers, and
consumers gain an understanding of the symbolism, role, and
evolution of significant cultural events, rituals, and related
consumer behaviors.
This research evaluates the meaning of symbolic represen-
tation in advertising to understand the role of media in the
construction, maintenance, and evolution of ritual celebration.
This topic is important to macromarketing scholars as they seek
to understand the impact of marketing practice on society.
Using the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday as the context, this study
employs print ads to examine advertising’s role in constructing
an authentic ritual. In addition, the ways in which cultural
practices influence marketing are studied.
Ritual expression in advertising has not often been the sub-
ject of investigation, despite scholars recognizing the relational
link between advertising and rituals (Otnes and Scott 1996).
McCracken (1986, p. 74) argues that, “advertising works as a
potential model of meaning transfer by bringing the consumer
good and a representation of the culturally constituted world
together within the frame of an advertisement.” In fact, the
of cultural norms and artifacts by marketers. Thanksgiving,
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, for example, offer parallel
histories of the process of acceptance of national holidays.
Each holiday emerged from the efforts of a champion, like
Sarah Hale for Thanksgiving, who developed and promoted
an ideological ethic (i.e., sacred or secular), which was then
embraced by a commercial industry which disseminated mes-
sages to the mass consumer culture to adopt and embrace
(Schmidt 1997) (See Figure 1).
Thanksgiving, a near universally celebrated holiday in the
United States, is a holiday whose history is rooted in marketing.
Beginning in 1846, Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey’s
magazine, issued yearly editorials promoting the “Great Amer-
ican Festival” of Thanksgiving. In addition to the publicity
generated by her magazine, Hale wrote letters to governors
of states and territories, overseas missionaries, and Navy com-
manders, urging them to celebrate Thanksgiving and to make it
a legal, unifying holiday (Pleck 1999). She contended that the
holiday celebration would help avert a civil war and provide a
1
Department of Marketing, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
2
Haworth College of Business, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI,
USA
3
The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
Corresponding Author:
Samantha N. N. Cross, Department of Marketing, Iowa State University,
2350 Gerdin Business Bldg., Ames, IA 50011-1350, USA.
Email: snncross@iastate.edu
Cross et al.
Holiday Champion
•Thanksgiving •Sarah Gale
•Mother's Day •Anna Jarvis
•Father's Day •Sonora Dodd
Figure 1. A contemporary holiday emergence process.
sense of completion and balance to the national calendar. After
Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in
1863, Hale and Godey’s led the way in creating a standardized
celebration, through stories, columns featuring recipes, and
advice on decorating. Both Godey’s and Ladies Home Journal
(a successor to Godey’s in popularity) offered detailed instruc-
tions on celebrating an authentic Thanksgiving.
While researchers have documented the creation of Thanks-
giving and other holiday rituals (Pleck 1999; Schmidt 1997;
Siskind 1992; Stern 1995; Wallendorf and Arnould 1991), few
studies have tracked the evolving models of ritual practices.
According to Tuleja (1994), Thanksgiving was created, not in a
tree-like fashion, but in a river-like fashion, out of constantly
shifting tributaries rather than taproots. Thanksgiving is a hol-
iday conflating past and recent practices, fusing vestiges and
innovations, ancient paradigms, and local variations, into
“models” that are always evolving. In their research on con-
sumption rituals of Thanksgiving Day, Wallendorf and
Arnould (1991, p. 13) note, “Thanksgiving Day is a collective
ritual that celebrates material abundance enacted through
feasting.” They describe the consumption rituals of Thanks-
giving Day as a “cultural discourse” that allows us to study the
manner in which “consumption actively constructs culture.”
They note that the Thanksgiving ritual “is guided by no writ-
ten liturgy.” Instead, “active negotiation of change and varia-
tion over the life cycle as well as across historical epochs” is
apparent among their participants (Wallendorf and Arnould
1991, p. 17).
Stern (1995) re-analyzes myths in consumer narratives
drawn from Wallendorf and Arnould’s (1991) data and juxta-
poses their analysis with data from pre-Thanksgiving food-
related advertising coupons. Using Frye’s ((2015) [1957])
four-category taxonomy of myth as comedy, romance, tragedy
and irony, Stern (1995) argues that consumption tales are as
much part of the cultural fabric of societies as other textual
productions. Stern explores the types and characteristics of the
myths in her consumer narratives and the manner in which they
emerge in advertisements.
Both articles imply that advertising plays a key role in
developing ritual cultural discourses and consumer narratives,
yet neither shows how these discourses and narratives evolve
over time. This study extends the work of Wallendorf and
Arnould (1991) and Stern (1995) as we examine the active
negotiation and variation of Thanksgiving celebrations across
historical periods within the world of advertising. We investi-
gate how messages change and examine the manner in which
461
Ideological Value Industry Sponsor
•Naonal •Food Industry
Sovereignty •Floral Industry
•Motherhood •Men's Clothing
•Fatherhood Industry
cultural mythmaking strategies surface in brand narratives in
advertising. The Thanksgiving meal represents the quintessen-
tial family meal in the U.S., which started with the original
myth of the Pilgrims and the Indians sharing a meal together
in harmony. In 2015, the core components of this meal include
turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and
pumpkin pie (Cross and Gilly, in press). Using Thanksgiving
as a context, we try to understand how these foods came to
represent the meal; that is, how did we get to this point? We ask
the following overarching research question: “What is the role
of advertising in establishing, maintaining and shaping rituals,
norms, and social structures?” As stated by Mittelstaedt,
Kilbourne, and Mittelstaedt (2016, p. 131), “activities and
actors of the marketplace cannot be understood fully without
also understanding the interdependence of markets and market-
ing systems with other dimensions of civic life.” Thus, in
answering this research question, we contribute to macromar-
keting theory by using institutional theory as a broad frame-
work to understand the legitimating process of marketing
practices on social structures, as we track the evolution of the
Thanksgiving holiday celebration over time, through the cul-
tural lens of advertisements.
Brief Theoretical Overview
Thanksgiving as a Social Institution
An institutional theoretic framework has been used to study an
array of marketing phenomena, including inter-organizational
dynamics, socially-based marketing actions, market creation,
and consumption practices (Grayson, Johnson, and Chen 2008;
Handelman and Arnold 1999; Homburg, Workman, and Kroh-
mer 1999; Humphreys 2010a, 2010b). Humphrey’s recent
work expands the use of institutional theory to understand
industry legitimation and the legitimating process of consump-
tion practices. Her work posits that consumption practices are
legitimated or delegitimated through changes in meaning
(Humphreys 2010b). She argues that while social actors need
not subscribe fully to a practice or belief to legitimize it, they
“must conform their behavior to its existence,” as legitimacy is
then “solidified by a network of norms and beliefs” (Hum-
phreys 2010a, p. 3). Johnson, Dowd, and Ridgeway (2006, p.
59) compare the process of legitimation in organizations to the
process in other social institutions. They contend that the pro-
cess of establishing institutional legitimacy unfolds across time
and is invariably “built upon initially explicit roots.”
462
Appelbaum (1984) describes Thanksgiving dinner as a
national institution, which is still evolving. The notion of the
Thanksgiving holiday as an institution is supported by Scott
(1995, p. 33), who defines an institution as a “social structure”
which has attained a “high degree of resilience.” He advocates
that every institution (including social structures such as
church, school, or marriage) has three elements of support –
regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive, and sees each
serving a vital function in supporting the institution. Cross and
Gilly (in press) argue that the Thanksgiving holiday is a cultural
institution which embodies all three, as they focus on the inter-
play of traditions in understanding the less explicit cultural-
cognitive elements of the Thanksgiving celebration. Supported
by social sanctions, Thanksgiving is a national holiday, a social
institution with defined rituals, norms, and shared conceptions
continuously reinforced through advertising practices.
Mythmaking through Advertising
Scholars have recognized the role of myth in advertising con-
tent (Parker 1998; Randazzo 1993; Stern 1995); however,
myths outlined in the literature tend to be metaphorical or
symbolic. For instance, Parker (1998) discusses beer myths
in advertisements as representations of manhood and the Amer-
ican dream, beer as a reward for hard work or play, and male
bonding. Similarly, Randazzo (1993) suggests that brand
mythologies are built around mythical characters (i.e., the Jolly
Green Giant and Betty Crocker), mythical places (i.e., Hidden
Valley), and mythical moments, situations, or themes (i.e., the
first day of school).
Alternately, Roland Barthes ((1972) [1957], p. 11), a French
literary critic, postulates that myth is a “mode of signification”
in which advertising often “dress [es] up a reality which, even
though it is the one we live in, is undoubtedly determined by
history.” This definition seems to be particularly appropriate,
as advertising is a storied form of communication, a narrative
fiction that in addition to communicating information about the
product, tries to reflect the values and lifestyle of a culture.
Further, brand mythologies are often found to provide a sense
of cultural identity, by reflecting and reinforcing consumer
values and sensibilities (Randazzo 1993).
By tracing the historical representation of the Thanksgiv-
ing meal over time periods through a socio-cultural narra-
tive developed from symbolic brand representations, we
gain an understanding of how the holiday has evolved into
what it represents today. We place our research into the
context of historical advertising stages as enumerated by
Leiss et al. (2005).
Historical Advertising Stages
In our research, Leiss and colleagues’ (2005) historical review
of the stages of advertising since 1890 lays the foundation for a
detailed examination of the advertisements included in our
data. These stages include the product-oriented stage, the prod-
uct symbols stage, the personalization stage, the market
Journal of Macromarketing 37(4)
segmentation stage and the demassifying stage. During the
product-oriented stage, advertising messages were focused on
the product, utilizing the product-information format. These
instructional messages appeal to the rational mind offering
“reasons why” and a persuasive informational approach argu-
ing the merits of the product.
Advertising strategies in the product symbols stage move
toward non-rational and symbolic grounding of consumption.
Communication strategies utilizing symbolic ad messages
move the emphasis from products to people as a means of
conveying ideas about the product.
During the personification stage, people are explicitly and
directly interpreted in their relationship to the world of the
product. Communication strategies using personalized ads
describe products as having human characteristics.
In the lifestyle/market segmentation stage, products are
positioned within the web of collective activities resonating
with implicit consumption styles. Communication strategies
utilizing lifestyle ads describe people, products, and settings
of consumption as harmonized around a unified expression.
Finally, communication strategies during the demasssifica-
tion stage utilize diversity in ads to describe products as props
for the self-construction of changing scenes and lifescripts.
Leiss et al.’s (2005) narrative about the stages of advertising
history and the different communication strategies purportedly
utilized by advertisers over time, provide a template for the
time period encapsulated by our data.
Research Method
Approximately 625 Thanksgiving-related print advertisements
were collected exhaustively from the yearly November issues
of Good Housekeeping magazine, which is circulated in Octo-
ber. Good Housekeeping magazine was chosen as a modern
proxy to the original Godey’s and Ladies’ Home Journal; has
been continuously published over the last century, and has
consistently featured Thanksgiving-related advertisements.
The advertisements span a 99-year period from 1916 to
2014 and were utilized as cultural artifacts that highlight
representations of mealtime rituals, product assortments, and
expressed behaviors associated with the Thanksgiving holi-
day. Ads were pulled from magazines housed in public and
university library archives.
Measures for content analysis were pretested on a few ads
before the coding rubric was finalized. After training on the
coding rubric, two undergraduate research assistants coded
basic information on each ad (such as numbers of males and
females depicted and gender roles) and entered this informa-
tion into an Excel template created by the co-authors. Two
additional undergraduate research assistants then indepen-
dently coded the ads based on ad format and the key coding
themes. The authors identified the themes for this more in-
depth coding, with the two independent coders trained to fol-
low a coding script. This approach, recommended by Kolbe
and Burnett (1991), minimizes judges’ subjective biases and
enhances objectivity.
Cross et al.
Table 1. Data Grouped under Communicative Advertising Formats.
Product-Information Stage Product-Symbol Stage
Instruction 7% 17%
Symbolism 14% 21%
Personalized 0% 18%
Lifestyle 4% 22%
Diversity 0% 0%
TOTAL 52 113
Intercoder agreement (Kassarjian 1977) was assessed by an
independent research assistant who compared the prior coders’
identifications. Interjudge reliabilities for the 14 variables were
above 80%, with average intercoder reliability at 89%. When
disagreements were identified, the coders and authors dis-
cussed the patterns and themes until consensus was reached.
Based on this content analysis, and a more detailed textual
analysis of select ads that are exemplar representations of cer-
tain topics/concepts, the researchers were able to identify emer-
gent periods stemming from the data.
However, the study of history is the study of both continuity
and change; and goes beyond chronology. Thus, we develop a
periodization model representing multiple layers of history,
both industrial and socio-cultural, showcasing the evolution
of the Thanksgiving holiday. “Periodization is the process of
dividing the chronological narrative into separately labeled
sequential time periods with fairly distinct beginning and end-
ing points” (Witkowski and Jones 2006, p. 77). Thus, period-
ization marks turning points in time and summarizes and
structures historical research. By focusing the reader on a spe-
cific time span, periodization is valuable in promoting commu-
nication and understanding (Hollander et al. 2005). This
approach, also used by Minowa, Khomenko, and Belk (2010)
in their research on Valentine’s Day rituals in Japan, allows the
data to guide the emergent periods.
The initial content analysis of our Thanksgiving advertise-
ment data within the established advertising stages and com-
munication strategies described by Leiss et al. (2005)
corroborates their classification within our timeframe. Our per-
iodization analysis then categorizes our advertising data by
emergent chronological groupings based on key themes, allow-
ing a better understanding of historical epochs in this context.
Finally, we balance the content and periodization analyses with
a deeper, more nuanced examination of brand narratives asso-
ciated with iconic Thanksgiving artifacts, to illustrate cultural
mythmaking strategies that shaped the Thanksgiving celebra-
tions we know today.
Findings and Emergent Themes
Overview of Advertising Data
Thanksgiving ads throughout the 99 years consistently depict
food consumption (approximately 75% of the ads), as an
expected component of the holiday and ritual, with about
463
Demassifying/Post
Personification Stage Lifestyle Stage Demassifying Stage
25% 22% 29%
25% 15% 25%
41% 12% 29%
11% 37% 26%
0% 14% 86%
156 132 184
35% including recipes to guide consumers. In addition to food,
ads cover a range of product categories, including appliances,
cook and bake ware, utensils, sewing devices, seasonings, alu-
minum foil, and an array of brands, such as Welch’s, Hormel,
Bell’s Seasoning, Pyrex, and Ocean Spray.
Ads also emphasize the symbolism of the holiday and dis-
parate gender roles, particularly the ritualistic role played by
women. The majority of ads from the early 1900s to the mid-
2000s portray images of women in traditional gender roles.
Males are depicted 159 times compared to females who are
depicted 269 times. Women are often shown preparing meals
with various labor-saving devices to either help in the kitchen
or to give women more time to complete the needed prepara-
tions for the meal. These appliances and devices include stoves,
refrigerators, roasting pans, vacuum cleaners, and even high-
chairs to keep children safe and out of the way.
Findings: Content Analysis
As we group the advertisements in our data under the commu-
nicative advertising formats outlined by Leiss et al. (2005), our
content analysis unearths patterns that corroborate and comple-
ment their predictions. See Table 1. According to Leiss et al.
(2005), the product-information stage should be dominated by
instructional ads, the product-symbol stage by symbolic ads,
the personification stage by personalized ads, the lifestyle stage
by lifestyle ads, and the demassification stage by diversity ads.
Due to the nature of the Thanksgiving holiday, it may be
expected that instructional ads would dominate each stage, as
the focus of the magazine is around improving home economic
endeavors. We also see that the highest percentage of personi-
fication ads occurred in the personification stage, the highest
percentage of lifestyle ads occurred in the lifestyle stage, and
the highest percentage of diversity ads occurred in the demas-
sifying and post-demassifying stages. However, like instruc-
tional ads, symbolic ads, which are the next most prevalent,
also dominate and increase through each stage. This suggests
that our ads do typify a particular stage, which partially sup-
ports Leiss et al.’s (2005) categorization of advertising stages
and the equivalent communication format. However, the
demarcation between advertising stages is more fluid than
those authors imply. In our data, advertisers emphasize the
pragmatic purpose of advertising, i.e. to inform, create aware-
ness and persuade consumers towards purchase, while high-
lighting and reiterating the important national symbolism of
464
the Thanksgiving holiday. In the final demassifying and post-
demassifying stages, as consumers have become more sophis-
ticated, so has ad complexity, with advertisers using all of the
communication strategies at this stage.
The next section highlights our periodization analysis,
which includes a thematic assessment of the advertisements,
based on historical epochs.
Emergent Themes and Periods in Thanksgiving History
Based on the coding of ads and the in-depth qualitative analysis
of ad content, key themes were identified in the data that focus
on symbolism, gender, and ritual maintenance. These include
1) the advocacy of symbolic celebratory artifacts; 2) gendered
work and the family; 3) increasing emphasis on saving time and
maximizing convenience; and, 4) the implied minimization of
risk through the use of innovative advertised products. Thanks-
giving ads serve as socializing agents, providing instruction on
appropriate modes of celebration, as well as the use of a variety
of products. Symbolism in celebratory artifacts will be dis-
cussed as part of the discussion of cultural mythmaking strate-
gies later in the paper, and gender and family work will be
discussed as part of an upcoming section on emergent periods
in Thanksgiving history. The final two themes, time saving and
convenience, and innovation and risk minimization, represent
collective manifestations of ads addressing pragmatic and
mundane concerns, and are grouped under the category of ritual
maintenance.
Thus, the periodization analysis builds on and provides a
different perspective on the earlier discussed turning points in
American history and the history of advertising stages in Amer-
ica. Thematic periods based on economic, civic, pre- and post-
war cycles are represented in the ads. These cycles include
socio-economic and historical events such as the end of World
War I and the Great Depression; the onset of World War II, the
Korean and Vietnam Wars, the Civil Rights and Women’s
Rights Movements; and, the increasing pace of technological
innovations. Throughout the 10 decades, we group and discuss
various depictions of our five emergent themes in four distinct
periods: the emergent era, the cultivation era, the augmentation
era and the re-establishment era.
The Emergent Era (1916 – 1930s). Ads in the mid to late 1910s
promoted pies as the main dessert of Thanksgiving. In fact,
more ads showcased homemade pies than turkeys. Women
donning aprons and prairie attire are depicted in the kitchen
laboriously baking pies as part of the perfect Thanksgiving
meal. During this era, preparing a successful Thanksgiving
meal is depicted as a difficult and risky endeavor and adver-
tisements promoted products aimed at reducing the associated
anxiety. The caption in a 1920 ad for a roaster reads:
The day home-gathering, feasting and good fun is one of work and
worry for the hostess. Her anxiety concerns most of all- the turkey.
Hand-basting means constant attention, lifting and turning in front
Journal of Macromarketing 37(4)
of a hot oven . . . buy a Lisk Self-Basting Roaster and you will have
nothing to watch but the clock. Run no Risk - Be Sure It’s Lisk
Saving money is also a primary feature during this period,
with ads showing sensitivity to the approaching depression.
Advertising strategies become more responsive to the price
sensitive customer of the Great Depression. During these
years, ads emphasize the wife’s role in budgeting and sav-
ing money for the family. For example, an ad during this
period shows a variety of dishes using walnuts and a smil-
ing woman holding her bowl of walnuts. Comments note
how walnuts can spice up any meal and make an ordinary
meal unique. A bowl of walnuts appears in the foreground
of the image, with a text box: “See How I Cut Corners on
My Budget, Too!” It reads:
If you’re anything like me – pennies are mighty precious around
the holiday. But I never want my meals to show it! So here’s how I
solve the problem: I take my thrifty, everyday recipes – and just
add walnuts! Really, they’re wonderful! Salads, main courses and
desserts – they all taste new, delicious! And certainly I wouldn’t let
Thanksgiving roll around without filling my walnut bowl. Of
course, I insist on Diamond Walnuts. Then I know the shells are
full, kernels fresh and sweet- my money’s worth always!
The roasted and stuffed turkey became the centerpiece of the
Thanksgiving meal in the early 19th century. Before that time,
a chicken pie had been the most significant Thanksgiving meal
and three or four meats vied for meal prominence (Appelbaum
1984). Our analysis suggests that, at this time, only turkey and
stuffing appear to have solidified their position as symbolically
appropriate menu items for the Thanksgiving feast. It must be
noted that, as a meat, turkey is relatively cheap and thus allows
the aura of abundance without great cost. A 1935 Knox Gelatin
ad suggests that even without meat, a delicious meal could be
prepared (See Figure 2).
While turkeys and pies remained the foods most featured in
ads, other products and brands attempted to stake claim as
appropriate menu items for Thanksgiving dinner. Cranberries
become established as a traditional Thanksgiving dish during
this period. New versions of old traditions are introduced that
include adding nuts to cranberries, cakes, and stuffing. Many of
the ads include free offers for mail-in recipe books to help
families properly incorporate advertised products into their
Thanksgiving dishes.
Products such as cookware for turkeys were targeted to
women as offering time savings that could then be utilized for
other food preparation duties, not for leisure or family time as is
the case in subsequent periods. In the 1920s, home cleaning
products and cooking utensils are advertised as much as food
products, offering “assurances” that produced “blessings” and
“joy.” These items helped “hostesses” and “housewives” pre-
pare food for this annual test for women: to create the perfect
Thanksgiving meal. While two ads in 1921 depict men serving
food as butlers, no other ad depicted men as having any role in
the holiday preparation.
Cross et al. 465

Figure 2. Advertisement for Knox Gelatine.

Ads show many instances of different generations of the younger woman, who is holding a pie she just
females working together to prepare the meal. A 1917 removed from her Acorn Ranges oven. This advertise-
advertisement shows two women working steadily in the ment affirms the traditional role of women in the home,
kitchen. One woman is older and seems to be assisting as it reads:
466
“The day before Thanksgiving – Mother’s busy baking day! How
she flies about the kitchen. And-m-m-m-m! –the delicious fra-
grance her magic touch sets free to whet our appetites for tomor-
row’s joys dinner! On this day more than ever she gives her whole
unselfish soul to the service of her loved ones. But what about
Mother’s own Thanksgiving? Why not lighten labor and double
her joy this year with an Acorn Range? She may falter a little when
she sees it in her kitchen. Tears may come to her eyes. She may
protest that she doesn’t deserve it. But we know there’s nothing too
good for Mother-not even an Acorn.”
Mother becomes a generic term for both the older woman and
the younger one, with the oven as a tool to help all mothers.
Thus, during this time period, many ads focus on workload
alleviators, risk-reducing products, and recipes and advice to
assist women.
This period also marks the introduction of Bell’s Seasoning
ads, the company with the most ads in the study, spanning 1920
to 1964. Bell (2013, p. 329) notes “The introduction of Bell’s
Spiced Seasoning coincided with the early years of a national
Day of Thanksgiving to be celebrated on the final Thursday in
November. Although described as a seasoning for ‘meats,
game, fish & poultry,’ it has, from early on, been linked inse-
parably to the Thanksgiving turkey.” The first ad issued in 1920
was small, in black and white, with a large image of a bell, and
the words, “Save Meat- Save Money.” Another 1923 ad seems
to be sharing space with Walker Dishwasher and Dryer. The
top half features the Bell’s seasoning product, while the bottom
half features two women conversing around the dishwasher, the
implication being that both products are useful to these women,
not only for holidays, but also every day throughout the year.
Throughout their 40-year history, Bell’s seasoning ads focus
either on the turkey or women holding dishes. In these early
decades, traditional gender roles are clearly portrayed through
images and text.
The Cultivation Era (1940s – 1960s). During World War II,
family depictions in ads noticeably decreased and ads
focused primarily on meal preparation, recipes, and food
products. The focus is on Thanksgiving food, not who is
preparing it. Advertisers appealed to the social and eco-
nomic environment, as this was the period during which
World War II and the Women’s and Civil Rights Move-
ments occurred. The Thanksgiving meal provided “islands
of peace in a troubled world” (as stated in a 1940 Heinz
Company ad). A 1942 advertisement shows a young man in
a military uniform hugging his parents. The headline states,
“Home For Thanksgiving! Serve this Honey Pumpkin Pie.”
Under the headline are images of a Spry can, a pumpkin pie,
a recipe, and a word from the spokesperson, Aunt Jenny, on
Spry’s 3-way saving of time, money and flavor. Recipes and
ads typically use words like “ration-stretching” (1943
Armour and Company ad) and “cutting corners” (1939 Dia-
mond Walnuts ad) to reflect the rationing of the time; a
thrift-based holiday-savings mentality that would persist
decades later according to Stern (1995).
Journal of Macromarketing 37(4)
Early in this period, cooking quickly becomes a focus; how-
ever, the prevailing motivation is to save time to prepare other
food dishes, not to be with the family or reduce overall cooking
time. Later, as the economy in the U.S. improved, so did the
expectations for the Thanksgiving meal, as representations
move away from quick and easy preparations to quality foods,
as slogans range from “Ready to Serve” (1940 cranberry ad) to
a 1953 ad “Only fresh cranberries can give you all the natural
flavor.” Time saving techniques opened up leisure time for
being with one’s family. For example, a 1957 ad includes the
headline, “Holidays are playdays when you serve Kaiser
Foils.” These depictions most likely represent shifting socio-
cultural norms and roles within the family. Cooking and shop-
ping turned into a glamorous or entertaining process in the
1950s, as ads showcase women dressed in their fanciest attire
when cooking and shopping for the Thanksgiving meal.
In this era, the turkey is the focus of most holiday repre-
sentations. Men are still shown hunting and carving the turkey
while women cook and prepare the bird. Several ads include
tips, new techniques, and spices for preparing the turkey, and
new products that aid in the cooking process. Brands such as
Ocean Spray seemed to spearhead movements toward aug-
menting traditional Thanksgiving food (e.g., using cranberries
with oranges and gelatin). Ocean Spray cranberries offered
ways of changing the variety of products within the Thanks-
giving meal without removing traditional favorites. Meal pat-
terns reflect the idea that instead of making new side dishes,
consumers could add new spices or flavoring (e.g., Bell’s
seasoning). Pre-cooked turkeys and other foods were devel-
oped, offering “guaranteed” success, quicker preparation, and
ease. Mrs. Smith’s frozen pies were introduced as a
homemade-tasting alternative to women making them
themselves.
More than any other product, Thanksgiving dessert pie
advertisements have highlighted the tension between home-
cooked and store-bought products, or a labor of love versus
convenience. Earlier in the period, consumers were encouraged
to avoid “the work and hassle of baking pie” by purchasing pie.
However, paradoxically, later in the period, consumers were
made to feel guilty if they bought store-made pies and encour-
aged to “unbake tradition” by using a gelatin crust to improve
their homemade desserts. These issues will be discussed in
more detail later. In addition, new cooking techniques prom-
ised better results. For example, ads for Reynold’s aluminum
foil include instructions for different ways to roast a turkey
utilizing the “tenting” method.
Thus, Thanksgiving dinner is depicted as less of a process,
with fewer recipes and more ads promoting the simplification
of the holiday itself. Women are seen as taking pride in con-
quering the cooking of the turkey and enjoying eating their
food as well. Before this time, women were rarely shown eating
food they prepared. Ads in this period also include extended
family in holiday rituals, often depicting three generations of
women in the kitchen. In some ads during this period, wives
appear separate from the Thanksgiving meal and grandmothers
seem to take over as primary meal preparers. Gender role
Cross et al.
representations begin to shift as women in the “new American
family” hold elevated positions in the ads.
With the exception of a few ads between 1954 and 1969, ads
do not overtly portray distinctive gender roles, as ads primarily
feature traditional Thanksgiving favorites: pies, cakes, cran-
berry sauce, ham, turkey, etc. This may stem from the budding
Women’s Rights Movement, as advertisers were careful not to
anger or alienate women by portraying them explicitly in the
role of the homemaker and housewife. A 1957 advertisement,
perhaps anticipating the gender shift of the coming decades,
shows the changing role of women from the typical housewife
to the glamorous woman featured in the ad, who tosses her
apron. The copy below the image states:
Imagine the big day and you for once not slaving over a hot stove!
Instead you’re calm, cool, and collected having fun with your
guests for a change. This dream of every hostess has finally come
true! For now, the holiday feast or any company dinner can all be
fixed with “Quilted” Kaiser Broiler Foil the day before. Come
mealtime–everything’s ready to simply reheat and serve for a won-
derful dinner.
No longer will the busy modern woman be bound to the kitchen
on Thanksgiving Day itself. The ad implies that she can do all
her preparation the day before and Kaiser Tin Foils, with its
“Do-Ahead Magic” allows her to better manage holiday meal
preparation and mingle with her guests.
However, during this period of transition and change, adver-
tisers do not portray men as food preparers either. A few ads
show dual roles. A Pyrex ad shows the woman setting the table
with her Pyrex bowls, while the man carves the turkey. Note
that neither individual is shown actually preparing the meal.
The carving of the turkey is the typical role in which males are
depicted and in this ad, the woman is uncharacteristically, until
now, shown in a complementary role.
The Augmentation Era (1970s – 2001). Throughout ads in this
era, several re-occurring themes from the prior two periods,
such as the use of recipes and the use of appliances to help
alleviate labor appear. A Whirlpool ad depicts a woman taking
a relaxing bath while her Thanksgiving dinner cooks in her
Whirlpool oven. Several ads touch on innovative products or
approaches to the holiday meal, and healthier choices for
holiday foods.
During this period, there are many food products advertised
that are not featured in more current depictions of Thanksgiv-
ing. As in the first period, advertisers seem to be pushing var-
ious food products (for example, Welch’s grape juice [See
Figure 3.], fruitcake, Campbell’s tomato soup, and even
Hormel pepperoni) to complement the Thanksgiving meal,
hoping these products will eventually become staples of the
Thanksgiving feast.
Turkeys and pies are the two dishes most depicted. Empha-
sis on the perfect turkey replaces emphasis on the perfect meal,
and the Butterball brand takes the lead in promoting the impor-
tance of turkey, offering a talk-line to support those seeking to
467
achieve perfection. New “heat-and-serve” products are intro-
duced, promising a flavor “like Grandma used to make.” Pies
are promoted as guaranteeing a homemade taste, as advertising
content moves away from cooking-from-scratch and toward
store-bought alternatives. Tensions surface as several ads high-
light the importance of preserving homemade traditions in this
“old American institution” (see Figure 4.).
In earlier periods, women are seen as central to the Thanks-
giving meal and men are invisible or sidelined, with minimal
participation portrayed. During this period, men appear more in
ads; not in the role of turkey carver, but as recipients of the
meals served by women. This role does begin to change. One
ad displays the image of a woman, her daughter, and her son in
the kitchen making bread. In ads from prior periods, young
boys are shown watching from a distance, while only young
women are allowed to help. In this period, the intergenerational
transfer of traditions does not necessarily have to be from
female to female members. This ad reflects changing social
norms, as the male figure looks up to his mother for guidance
in making the Thanksgiving meal. The caption reads:
“Whether baked for gift giving or family enjoyment, homemade
breads are a TRADITION in many families, passed from one gen-
eration to another. ‘The Perfect Activity for Family
Togetherness.’”
In some ads, men are now shown as involved in food prepara-
tion. However, their roles are still different from that of the
female food preparer. When men are shown in ads assisting
with the meal, they are usually shown as the “expert” male
chef. In essence, the depiction of male gender roles changed
little with regard to meal preparation, as none of the ads portray
everyday non-expert male involvement in Thanksgiving food
preparation.
The Re-establishment Era (2002–2014). The final era is marked
by an increase in the depiction of family values as part of
the Thanksgiving tradition. Whereas the previous period
focused on products, this period increasingly focuses on
people and social interactions. Mother-daughter interactions
seem to fade during the Augmentation era, but are back in
the 2000s, as the dyad cooks and bakes the Thanksgiving
meal together as a bonding experience. This shift towards
representations of traditional values is likely linked to socio-
cultural shifts following the 9/11/01 tragedy. This era also
features ads with public icons, such as celebrity chefs Tyler
Florence, Chef Andre, Sandra Lee, and Kim Emery. Perso-
nalizing homes with popular decorating product lines from
Martha Stewart and former-supermodel Kathy Ireland
becomes the norm.
Another theme of the period is the development of “twists”
for traditional Thanksgiving dishes. Ways to think outside of
the “already-prepared” box are encouraged, especially with
pies and desserts. Consumers are encouraged to “be creative”
and to make Thanksgiving their own. This era also includes a
spike in representations of ethnic and racial diversity. While
468 Journal of Macromarketing 37(4)

Figure 3. Advertisement for Welch’s Grape Juice.

Leiss and his colleagues recognized the increase in diversity Findings: Periodization Analysis
representations during their demassification period (i.e.,
The periodization analysis reveals four eras with distinct the-
1986-2000), our analysis suggests that the increase in such
matic reflections and strategies. In the emergent era (1916 –
depictions appear primarily in the post-demassification period
1930s), advertising messages reflect the need to persevere,
(2001-2014).
Cross et al. 469

Figure 4. Advertisement for H. J. Heinz Company.

despite the economic and societal disruption of the Great roles and norms. In the cultivation era (1940s – 1960s), the
Depression, and WWI and II. The emphasis is on thrift, civic focus is on rebuilding and embracing change. The Thanksgiv-
pride and maintaining tradition, including traditional gender ing celebration is the bond and the emphasis is on the meal.
470
Advertisers are careful to provide time saving tools, incorpor-
ating new technological advances, while being sure to alienate
neither men nor women as ads simultaneously advocate for
continuing old traditions, while staying in tune to societal
changes. In the augmentation era (1970s – 2001), the tradition
of Thanksgiving lies in the celebration of the holiday itself, not
in maintaining traditional roles. The meal continues to be the
heart of the celebration, yet the content of the meal, while
having a central core, leaves room for variation, creativity and
personalization. In the re-establishment era (2002-2014), crea-
tivity and new ways of celebrating co-exist with a new empha-
sis on traditional values, family bonding and social
interactions, as society rallies together in response to socio-
cultural shifts. Society is more diverse, women are more
empowered, and advertisers and brand managers are careful
to be inclusive and inoffensive.
Thus, our content analysis reveals that advertisers reflect the
pulse of society, alerting consumers to current and upcoming
trends. Our periodization analysis supports this notion of ads as
indicators of cultural shifts, demonstrating that ads, and the
brands depicted in those ads, play key roles in both reflecting
current societal changes and maintaining traditional views.
While the collective representations of advertisements form
the foundation for discussion of our content and periodization
analyses, that brands also have their own individual brand nar-
ratives must be highlighted. Based on thematic depictions, par-
ticularly the advocacy of symbolic celebratory artifacts, such as
turkey and cranberry sauce, the next section provides a deeper
analysis of cultural mythmaking strategies. These strategies are
centered on three focal items associated with the Thanksgiving
celebration, turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, as we
examine the manner in which the ensuing historical brand nar-
ratives, perpetuated by advertisers, contribute to the myth and
continuity of the holiday celebration.
Historical brand narratives are representational, structured
records that explain the development of brand messages and
the rationale for consumer perceptions of the brand, in specific
contexts and period(s) over time. Thus, the historical brand
narrative is based on multiple advertising depictions over time.
Our brand narratives build on Wallendorf and Arnould’s (1991,
p. 13) discussion of the “cultural discourse” of Thanksgiving
consumption rituals as they examine how “consumption
actively constructs culture.” Periodization analyses and brand
narratives combine to form a complementary cultural discourse
allowing us to study how advertising actively constructs both
consumption and culture. In developing these brand narratives,
we also highlight the cultural mythmaking practices utilized in
the process of historical narrative development. Thus, we build
on Stern’s (1995) analysis of myths in consumer narratives, as
we try to understand the strategies involved in creating persua-
sive appeals.
Cultural Mythmaking Strategies
Several advertisers attempted to build associations with
Thanksgiving by creating historical connections to the holiday.
Journal of Macromarketing 37(4)
Three forms of what we label cultural mythmaking strategies
are mythological linking, creating tradition, and old fashioning.
Mythological linking is the most dominant form in our brand
narratives and suggests that a product has always been a part of
the holiday tradition. For example, in 1971, Log Cabin suggests
that their syrup had been around since 1887, was used by our
forefathers, and at Thanksgiving it was put on everything but
the turkey. By positioning their product as being on the original
Thanksgiving table, Log Cabin tries to establish their product
as a traditionally appropriate food, whether true or not. In
another example, the Welch’s Company 1965 advertisement
implies that the first Thanksgiving meal included beverages
made from Concord grapes. Thus, Welch’s grape juice (per-
haps as an alternative to wine for kids) represents the “true
spirit of Thanksgiving” . . . just as our forefathers would have
liked (See Figure 2.).
A Campbell’s advertisement in 2005 is indicative of myth-
making by creating tradition. In this advertisement, a statement
alleges that a Campbell’s kitchen manager by the name of
Dorcas Reiley created green bean casserole in 1955 using
Campbell’s products. The company then encourages consu-
mers to share the “classic” dish with their families.
Old fashioning plays on the nostalgic yearnings for past
times and traditions and presents products as recreating those
memories. A 1940 Heinz advertisement describes consumers
longing for the old fashioned Thanksgiving dinner of their
youth and then presents its products as being a part of those
consumer memories (see Advertisement 3).
Our findings suggest that marketers use advertising to
embed their brands into the existing American Thanksgiving
tableau. The implication is that the green bean casserole (using
Campbell’s soup), Welch’s grape juice, and other brands have
always been a part of Thanksgiving dinner, and always will be.
Our cultural mythmaking strategies enforce American cultural
identity surrounding Thanksgiving by: (1) creating implica-
tions about the history of brand usage, (2) creating lasting
traditions, and (3) playing on nostalgic longings for times gone
by, respectively. The next section focuses on three products as
their stories evolved via ads.
The Turkey Story
Turkey is considered by many to be the primary centerpiece for
the Thanksgiving meal. The turkey narrative, as depicted in the
advertising data, begins with turkey competing with other
meats for the Thanksgiving meal. However, in only a few short
years, turkey became the only meat advertised. Two revealing
discourses dominate this narrative, namely the preparation dis-
course (1917-1962), where ads focus on equipment or food
used in the preparation of the turkey, and the presentation dis-
course (1962-2014), where ads focus on selling the bird itself.
From 1917 to 1962, multiple brands highlight the impor-
tance of the turkey and the risk involved in cooking the perfect
bird. These roaster brands, initially including Lisk, Aladdin,
Savory, West Bend, and then later encompassing ranges such
as Roper and General Electric, all promote their products as
Cross et al.
Figure 5. Advertisement for Swift’s Premium Butterball Turkey.
reducing the risks involved and time-commitment needed to
cook the perfect turkey.
The 1960s ushered in an era for brands like Armor Star and
Swift’s Premium that offered prepared turkeys. Swift’s Pre-
mium’s first advertisement in Good Housekeeping is an iconic
471
depiction of the Thanksgiving turkey, with a grandfather and
granddaughter praying over a turkey. The image of the two
gracing the meal highlights the sacredness of the turkey. This
became a popular ad for the company and was repeated annu-
ally for over a decade (See Figure 5.). Also, the company’s
472
early ads include copy insinuating that Swift’s Premium has
been sharing their turkeys with American families for over 108
years (i.e., using the mythological linking strategy described
earlier). In 1974, a Swift’s Premium ad depicts a large family
enjoying Thanksgiving with a tagline that reads: “The tradition
you started.”
The Norbert turkey company, Swift Premium’s primary
competitor, began their own brand narrative in 1967, when the
company differentiated itself from other brands by offering
turkeys that included a thermometer that popped out of the
turkey when it was fully cooked. The company continued to
promote its thermometer until their last ad in 1981, one that
celebrated the company as being a family tradition for over 50
years. The ad shows three generations of females together
holding a turkey and claims that Norbert has been trusted for
generations.
While the latter half of the century of turkey advertisements
is dominated by the presentation of the turkey as sacred, the
preparation of the bird remained an important aspect of this
narrative. As noted earlier in the discussion of the emergent
cultivation era, in 1963, Reynolds Wrap started an advertising
campaign for using foil to keep the turkey moist while cooking
in the oven. The Reynolds Wrap historical brand narrative
evolved without competition to drive the brand’s strategy. In
1975, Reynolds Wrap created the “great turkey controversy,”
wherein they showed two ways of cooking the turkey, one
being the “tent” method, the other the “wrap.” Then in 1983,
Reynolds Wrap developed another way to cook turkey: an
oven-cooking bag. Reynolds Wrap continued to advertise their
foil, while adding the Reynolds oven-cooking bag to their prod-
uct line.
Throughout the turkey narrative, we see the emphasis on
consumer instruction on turkey preparation and then on shap-
ing consumer perception of the focal importance of the turkey
to the Thanksgiving holiday celebration. In this way, the ads,
the stories and the myth-making strategies put forth by these
key brands, both sequentially and simultaneously, help to cre-
ate and perpetuate the Thanksgiving turkey tradition.
The Cranberry Story
Cranberry sauce is widely considered by many to be a staple
Thanksgiving side dish, an essential accompaniment to the
ubiquitous turkey. Two brand narratives illuminate the cran-
berry sauce Thanksgiving story–Eatmor Cranberries and
Ocean Spray.
The story begins in 1918, when an ad for the Eatmor Cran-
berry Company positions their whole cranberries as a perfect
complement to any Thanksgiving meat dish. From 1918 to
1926, Eatmor advertised their products with recipes, highlight-
ing how this dish went well with all meats; using a creating
tradition strategy. By 1930, Eatmor had positioned its product
as a necessary accompaniment to the Thanksgiving turkey, and
was the only brand advertising cranberry sauce, until Ocean
Spray entered the Good Housekeeping advertising market in
1931. Ocean Spray’s initial strategy was to promote the
Journal of Macromarketing 37(4)
tradition of cranberry sauce as part of the very first Thanksgiv-
ing meal between the Pilgrims and the Indians, implying that
the Ocean Spray brand has always been a part of the tradition
(i.e., using the mythological linking strategy). Eatmor
responded in 1934, by presenting their brand as “The Sauce
of Generations,” implying that ever since there were cranber-
ries, they were Eatmor cranberries. (Note that historians gen-
erally agree that, even if the Pilgrims were familiar with
cranberries, which were native to the area, cranberry sauce
(basically cranberries boiled with sugar) was not used as an
accompaniment to meat until some 50 years later.)
A brand positioning war ensued for more than a decade,
wherein Eatmor positioned its whole cranberries as a fresh
alternative to Ocean Spray’s canned gelatin sauce. Both brands,
however, as dominant competitors, successfully promoted the
Thanksgiving tradition of serving cranberry sauce with the
Thanksgiving turkey. Ocean Spray’s brand narrative focused
on the uniqueness of its gelatin slices. The company created
complementary products that promoted the ready-to-serve ease
of their popular product, such as cookie-cutter like molds that
turned cranberry sauce slices into turkey shapes. Another ad
promotes special silver spoons, perfectly designed to scoop
gelatin slices. Eatmor Cranberries was effectively pushed out
of the market by the 1950s. As the triumphant industry leader,
Ocean Spray began to promote both canned gelatin and whole
cranberries, side by side, in advertising for several years. Hav-
ing successfully positioned cranberry sauce and Ocean Spray
as the requisite side dish and the brand on Thanksgiving, the
Ocean Spray company ceased advertising in Good Housekeeping
for a 41-year period. Ocean Spray ran a reminder advertise-
ment in 2005, reiterating that Ocean Spray is the brand leader in
cranberry sauces.
The cranberry story is thus one of positioning, with the early
Eatmor brand laying the foundation for the acceptance of the
category and the creation of a new element of the Thanksgiving
tradition. Eatmor’s efforts paved the way for the later brand,
Ocean Spray, to dominate the market and shape consumer
perceptions of the perfect turkey accompaniment.
The Pie Story
Pumpkin pie is considered by many to be the quintessential
Thanksgiving dessert. Our advertising data shed light on how
pumpkin pie may have evolved as an essential part of the
Thanksgiving tradition. Again, while pumpkins are indigenous
to the New England area, pumpkin pie was likely not present at
the mythical first Thanksgiving meal, since the Pilgrims would
not have had the wheat flour or butter to make the pastry.
The pumpkin pie story can be framed around two illustrative
discourses — homemade versus ready-made. Ads during the
homemade discourse (1916-1950) promote products used in
the process of making pies from scratch, such as baking dishes,
evaporated milk, shortening, flour, etc. Strategies focus on con-
necting products to the season, to the Thanksgiving holiday,
and to the holiday turkey. A 1925 advertisement for Borden’s
evaporated milk includes the following copy: “A generous
Cross et al.
piece of old-time New England pumpkin pie with a steaming
cup of coffee—ask any real American if that isn’t the proper
dessert these fall days.” Note the emphasis on being a “real”
American, and who in America wouldn’t want to be perceived
as a “real” American on Thanksgiving Day?
Other companies followed with advertisements connecting
the autumn pumpkin season to pumpkin pie. In 1929, Snow-
drift Pie Crust Mix listed the pumpkin pie and the turkey as
key elements to any Thanksgiving meal, establishing and
strengthening the connections between the pie and the Holi-
day meal. During this discourse, multiple brands work simul-
taneously to position pumpkin pie as integral to a perfect
Thanksgiving meal.
A 1951 advertisement for ready-made pies by Bakers of
America represented a shift in the pumpkin pie narrative. The
ready-made discourse (1951-2014) focuses on the convenience
of no-bake, ready-made, and store-bought pies. This discourse
is dominated by two historical brand narratives — Mrs. Smiths
and Libby’s. After being introduced to Good Housekeeping
readers in 1960, Mrs. Smith’s produced a number of ads pro-
moting the convenience, ease, and great taste of their frozen
pumpkin pies. In 1965, Libby’s pumpkin filling cobranded
with Betty Crocker and introduced its product as an easy to
bake “classic homemade pie.” This started an advertising war
between the two brands, still being waged to this day; a posi-
tioning war similar to that discussed earlier under the cranberry
story, although a victor has yet to emerge. Mrs. Smith’s ads
emphasize the great taste of their frozen pie, while Libby’s ads
emphasize how pie can be easily baked homemade with care.
Libby’s primary strategy is to co-brand with other tradition-
laden products, like Pet Evaporated milk (a brand represented
in the earliest of ads) and Betty Crocker, and to literally ask
consumers, as they did in 1983, “Will your pumpkin pie come
from the heart or the box?” (See Figure 6.). In 1995, Mrs.
Smith’s changed their advertising strategy to focus on Mrs.
Smith’s pies as a product consumed by generations of families
at Thanksgiving, reverting to the mythological linking strategy
demonstrated in earlier brand narratives.
Figure 2 shows the timeline for the Thanksgiving stages
discussed in the earlier content and periodization analyses.
Figure 3 uses the same format to outline a cultural mythmaking
timeline, and tracks the evolution of three historical brand nar-
ratives, highlighting their overlapping nature over time. For
instance, the importance of preparing the “true” Thanksgiving
meal was very much the focus of advertisements in early
decades. The focus then shifted from the labor-intensive meal
to a more convenient one, with meal presentation being more
important than meal preparation. This evolution of brand nar-
ratives also supports the emphases discussed under the the-
matic periods in the earlier periodization analysis. In
comparing the timelines in Figures 7 and 8, we see the empha-
sis on turkey preparation and its growing symbolism during the
emergent and cultivation eras (1916-1960s); the focus on con-
venience and saving time highlighted in the tension between
“home-made” and “store bought” staples such as pie during the
cultivation and augmentation eras (1940s-2001); and the battle
473
between fresh, whole cranberries and canned gelatin cranberry
sauce during the emergent, cultivation and augmentation eras
(1916-2001), that essentially reinforce cranberries, in whatever
form, as another Thanksgiving staple.
Discussion & Implications
Through the historical analysis of print advertising centered
around the iconic U.S. cultural institution of Thanksgiving,
this research makes an important contribution to the literature
on consumption rituals and the role of advertising in the evo-
lution of consumption ritual making. Our data reveal that
marketers use Thanksgiving ads to create brand narratives and
cultural myths that are intended to educate, establish, shape,
and reinforce consumer perceptions about the importance of
the product category, the product, and the brand. These con-
sumer perceptions, in turn, may help to create, legitimize,
shape, and shift ritual norms and practices over time, as the
ritual evolves and endures. Thus, advertising attempts to cre-
ate, validate, and maintain norms associated with Thanksgiv-
ing celebrations, directly and indirectly, through consumer
perception and practice, and gradually shift those norms
(See Figure 9.).
By evaluating the meanings of symbolic representations in
advertising, understanding of the role of symbolic artifacts in
the maintenance of the consumption ritual is enhanced. Adver-
tising messages reflect accepted norms and evolving norms and
practices (Holbrook 1987; Pollay 1986). Ads are socializing
agents, not simply for creating and legitimizing cultural norms,
but for embracing new products and technologies, adding to the
literature on consumer socialization and the role of normative
and cultural-cognitive practices in supporting evolving social
institutions.
In examining the multi-level strategies of mythmaking,
ranging from those peculiar to particular products and services
to the all-encompassing story, this study also extends the work
of authors such as Stern (1995) and Wallendorf and Arnould
(1991). History has shown that advocacy and marketing played
key roles in initiating the Thanksgiving tradition; hence, the
fact that ads are primarily instructional in nature is not surpris-
ing. Yet, as our brand narratives and cultural mythmaking stra-
tegies illustrate, not only do advertisers strive to educate
consumers on the use of the products, they also endeavor to
shape consumer perception as to the symbolic importance of
the product category (turkey, cranberry sauce, and pie) to the
Thanksgiving celebration. These actions on the part of market-
ers and advertisers are intended to reinforce traditions and
myths that include their products, while Thanksgiving as an
institution is still evolving.
In his analysis of the symbolic importance of the Italian-
American Christmas Eve feast, La Vigilia, Di Giovine (2010, p.
192) discusses the manner in which the ritual practices associ-
ated with food preparation and consumption serve to maintain
tradition, and support social transformation. He discusses the
important role of gender in this process, seeing female pre-
parers of the feast as “active embodiers of tradition.” He notes
474 Journal of Macromarketing 37(4)

Figure 6. Advertisement for Libby’s Pumpkin and PET evaporated milk.

that while seemingly continuous over time, rituals are never contingent, and socially constructed, but also need to be
static; they are constantly changing. In discussing the ethnic responsive to their environments. This dichotomy of constancy
authenticity of Chinese food in the U.S., Lu and Fine (1995) and flexibility, as evidenced in our data, reinforces the legiti-
also point out that cultural traditions are not only mutable, macy of Thanksgiving as a social institution.
Cross et al. 475

1910 1925 1940 1955 1970 1985 2000 2015

Communicaon Product- Product- Personalizaon Market Demassifying

Product- Symbols
Oriented Product- Personalizaon Lifestyle Demass-Stage
Segmentaon Post-
Format* InformaonStage
Symbols Stage Stage ifying Demassifying
Stage Stage
Stage Stage S ta g e Stage

Emergent Emergent Culvaon Augmentaon Re-

Themes Era Era Era Establishment
Era

1910 1925 1940 1955 1970 1985 2000 2015

*Adapted from Leiss et al. (2005)

Figure 7. Thanksgiving advertising timeline.

Figure 8. Cultural mythmaking timeline.

Thus, as an early advocate and ardent supporter of the
Thanksgiving celebration, Sarah Josepha Hale’s efforts to fos-
ter regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive support for the
celebration laid the foundation for the legitimacy of Thanks-
giving as a cultural institution by linking the celebration to a
“broader cultural framework of beliefs” (Johnson, Dowd, and
Ridgeway 2006, p. 56). These authors note that the process of
establishing institutional legitimacy, while a seemingly impli-
cit process, is also a contested one; a process that unfolds across
time and is invariably built upon “initially explicit roots”
476
Figure 9. The role of marketing in ritual evolution.
(Johnson, Dowd, and Ridgeway 2006, p. 59). Our analysis
exposes an important facet of these “explicit roots,” as we
reveal the crucial role of advertising in often blatantly attempt-
ing to create, perpetuate, and maintain these social and media
constructed traditions.
Prior researchers have noted that the media act as gate-
keepers, agents of persuasion and an integral part of the legit-
imation process (Humphreys 2010; McCracken 1986; Zayer
and Coleman 2015). This study demonstrates that advertising
does not simply reflect or typify a particular historical stage,
event or norm, but that advertising may prepare us, as consu-
mers, for imminent social norms and traditions.
Ads can also shape the Thanksgiving story with what is not
found in ads: Native Americans as the original benefactors in
the Thanksgiving story. Despite the use of mythmaking strate-
gies in ads, there was but one depiction of Native Americans in
1968 amid a myriad of Pilgrim depictions. While the historical
accuracy of the story of the origin of Thanksgiving can be
called into question, the fact that advertising imagery harkens
back to Pilgrims, with symbolic references to, and uses of the
word, Pilgrim, but not Native Americans, may reflect a reluc-
tance by advertisers to stray from their mass audience.
Throughout the years, the ads are at once instructive, repe-
titive, and seductive, perhaps allowing certain cultural artifacts
to become part of the status quo, such as turkey, cranberry
sauce, and pumpkin pie; stable and not easily challenged. This
stability translates to the associated established prominent
brands as well. Yet, as Johnson, Dowd, and Ridgeway (2006)
suggest, delegitimation processes can also occur and we see
examples of this in our data, certainly with respect to the dis-
placement of some pioneer brands, such as Eatmor, by newer
challengers, such as Ocean Spray, for the cranberry market.
This instructive, socializing role of advertising may also
serve to introduce newcomers to Thanksgiving. As Cross and
Gilly (in press) note, Thanksgiving is sacred and special, an
inclusive festive occasion, and a revered U.S. cultural institu-
tion. Di Giovine (2010) argues that repeated participation,
familiarity, and enjoyment of the cultural artifacts (such as the
sacred dishes) of celebrations and festivals, is a sign of cultural
competence and an avenue for acquiring cultural capital. In
their discussion of the interplay of cultural competence, expert
power, and cultural capital in bi-national families, Cross and
Gilly (2014) echo this idea, as they argue the importance of the
role of the native spouse and the children, in addition to
Journal of Macromarketing 37(4)
observation, family and friend networks, in the immigrant
spouse’s acquisition of cultural competence. The current study
reinforces the potential role of advertising in not only reflecting
and shaping cultural norms, but also in bolstering competence
in a country’s cultural norms and traditions.
Yet, while fostering inclusion, this study’s data also point to
advertising’s role in perpetuating stereotypes. In their exami-
nation of advertising professionals’ perceptions of ethical con-
siderations in gender portrayals in advertising, Zayer and
Coleman (2015) assert that advertising’s role as a socializing
agent has an immense impact on societal values. Our early data
show the overt portrayal of women as preparers of the Thanks-
giving meal, docile and domesticated, and the almost non-
existence of male figures in the ads, other than in peripheral
roles. Over the entire timespan, the ads in this data are clearly
targeted to females, with none of them depicting everyday
mundane male involvement in Thanksgiving food preparation.
These depictions serve to perpetuate stereotypical female roles
in society. While these gender stereotypes may be related to the
choice of magazine (Good Housekeeping), these stereotypes
continued even as society evolved. Stern (1995) points out that
the image of the Thanksgiving mother figure in advertisements
serves both a literal and a symbolic purpose – to provide food
and promote harmony.
Finally, this research makes a key methodological contribu-
tion through the multi-method analytical approach, combining
historical, content, and thematic analyses, illustrated through a
mix of periodization layers and brand narratives. Using a
macromarketing perspective, this multi-layered approach is
both comprehensive and cumulative, providing an in-depth
analysis of the data in the context of developments in the social,
economic, cultural, and advertising spheres of the varying time
periods. Combined with the sheer breadth of the historical
period examined, the study reinforces the intricate relationship
between historical events, social and institutional norms,
changes in marketing and advertising emphases, and ritual
evolution.
Limitations and Future Research
The inclusion of advertising in only one magazine (Good
Housekeeping, a magazine that targets women) in our study
represents a limitation as other general interest magazines may
also contain ads relating to the Thanksgiving holiday. Future
Cross et al.
research should examine whether the gender stereotypes we
found persist in Thanksgiving-related ads in magazines target-
ing a broader audience.
Certainly other forms of marketing not included in our
study contain messages about rituals like the Thanksgiving
holiday. For example, in-store displays during the holiday
season offer depictions of ingredients marketers hope will
become part of the tradition. As well, editorial content in
magazines provide more detailed ideas for Thanksgiving cel-
ebrations and could be included in future studies to determine
if magazine editorial content is consistent with magazine ads
during the same time periods.
This research only considered one holiday, Thanksgiving, as
celebrated in the U.S. Future research on market legitimation
should consider longitudinal studies of advertising, as we find
that ads provide insight into the evolution of markets, as new-
comers, both direct competitors and others, attempt to find their
place in the market.
The content analysis of ads would be complemented by
evaluating consumer reactions to those ads. For example,
immigrants to the U.S. hoping to understand an authentic
Thanksgiving celebration can be asked about their interpreta-
tion of these ads. Future research can also target immigrants to
the U.S. and examine how they learn what a traditional Thanks-
giving meal includes and the role of advertising, educational
institutions, and other media in shaping these newcomers’
understandings of cultural practices.
Conclusion
This research makes use of a treasure trove of ads that enables
consideration of the messages advertisers send to consumers in
an attempt to legitimate their product’s place at the Thanksgiv-
ing table. Advertisers try, sometimes successfully and some-
times not, to create and maintain traditions that will become a
part of rituals as they evolve and change. Using cultural myth-
making strategies, advertisers develop historical brand narra-
tives that endure over time.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.
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Author Biographies
Samantha N. N. Cross, is an assistant professor in Marketing in the
College of Business at Iowa State University. Her research examines
how diverse entities, identities, perspectives, beliefs, ways of sensing
and consuming co-exist in individuals, households and society. She
incorporates innovative multi-method approaches in her research,
which has been published in top marketing journals and presented
in several national and international forums.
Robert L. Harrison is an associate professor of marketing at Western
Michigan University. He obtained a PhD in marketing from the Uni-
versity of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research interests include investiga-
tions of ethics in advertising depictions, consumer culture theory, and
qualitative and mixed methods research.
Mary C. Gilly is senior associate dean and professor of Marketing at
the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine.
Her research addresses consumer behavior issues using a multi-
method approach. Her research appears in premier journals, and she
is the recipient of the 2011 Williams-Qualls-Spratlen (WQS) Multi-
cultural Mentoring Award of Excellence from the American Market-
ing Association Foundation.