Abstract

The article focuses on consumer reality and corporate image. The U.S. has experienced three distinct periods of consumerism, or consumerist movements, in this century. The first occurred in the early 1900s when it was recognized that existing market mechanisms did not always serve the valid interests of the consumer. The second era of consumerism occurred during the depression years of the 1930s. Issues such as misleading advertising and brand proliferation began to be examined. The first legal federal recognition of consumer interest came with labor and consumer advisory boards established by the short-lived National Recovery Act of 1933. The third period of consumerism in this century, the one people are experiencing as of 1973, began in the late 1950s or early 1960s. In spite of these three distinct periods of consumerism, the movement has been continuous. Nevertheless, the movement has experienced its peaks and valleys, with each peak lasting about fifteen years. Since the growing consumer skepticism is a reality, then businessmen must be concerned about the effect these attitudes are having on their companies.