Satisfaction Guaranteed

By Susan Strasser

Book Overview

With colorful prose and provocative stories, Satisfaction Guaranteed uncovers the roots of America's consumer society, obsession with shopping, and devotion to brands. This sweeping history provides the reader with a better understanding of how clever and manipulative the advertising industry has been in order to beguile us with goods. From Gillette razors and Kodak cameras to Ivory soap and Kellogg cereals, what used to be obscure small brands have become household names and items sold on a previously unimaginable scale. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "a cautionary tale of how turn-of-the-century American capitalism invented and exploited the mass market," Satisfaction Guaranteed is a ground-breaking classic in social history and social criticism. Book jacket.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067972558X
• ISBN13: 9780679725589
• Release Date: August 1990
• Publisher: Pantheon
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Detailed

This is a very detailed economic history of wholesaling and retailing from about 1880 to 1930. The first chapter describes how Proctor and Gamble set out about creating consumer demand for a completely new product, Crisco, in 1912. In this chapter, Strasser eloquently points out "Human needs...are cultural constructs....Some people need yams and breadfruit, others Post Toasties and Kellogg's corn flakes." Now there's a thought worth pondering, as we consider "Do we need a second car in the family? Do we need a new TV? Do we need dental floss?"After reading some of Strasser's other books, I expected this book to focus more on this topic of need creation in the world of American manufacturing. However, much of the rest of the book is devoted to documenting business practices during the period. Subsequent chapters cover labeling and branding as a means of establishing consumer confidence and brand loyalty, the shift away from middlemen in the chain of distribution from producers to retailers, advertising as a way to introduce new products and habits to consumers, early marketing and promotion practices, the development of the self-service grocery store and the rise of retail chains and government regulations of the period affecting retailing and food. The book is amply illustrated with black and white reproductions of period ads, photographs, and cartoons. Source material is referenced with unnumbered endnotes; there is no separate bibliography or list of suggested readings. The book includes an index.I found reading this book through to be a tough slog. The style is highly academic, and the details tend to obscure the big picture. I found myself lost in the details, waiting for her to address the main points. I wanted to learn more about how manufacturers had changed American culture. Looking back and reflecting on what Strasser wrote, I can see that she did indeed tackle these topics, but there was so much information about the history of manufacturing and retailing and marketing that I missed what I was looking for in the first place. That said, the book still represents a fine piece of academic research. Her overview of the development of marketing and retailing practices in America from 1900-1930 is particularly well-researched and her illustrations are varied and well-chosen. All in all, the book wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it was still well worth reading.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Strasser's book is carefully researched and is devoted to an examination of the American mass market which emerges out of the growth of mass production techniques. Her use of advertising documents the shift from product-based to consumer-based ads that was necessary to establish a national market.