Purpose – This article aims to stimulate discussion of how the advertising of brands affects the product category by creating generic demand. Design/methodology/approach – The article outlines the author's personal viewpoint. Findings – Although greater emphasis has been given to generic...

Shelf access fees and cooperative merchandising agreements are tactics that clearly give power to big business, and nowhere is this more evident than in the soft drink wars. The lack of legal protection against these tactics by US regulators can squeeze small brands out of the retail environment...

The misguided effort to change the smoking behavior of college students using the same anti‐smoking messages created for young teens apparently stems from the misplaced marketing belief that ads designed to prevent young teens from smoking can also effectively encourage college‐student...

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to question the misplaced efforts to curb alcohol abuse through “responsible” drinking messages from the alcohol industry, asking how responsible this strategy really is. Design/methodology/approach – This article cites published research that...

Purpose – This article aims to address the nature of vulnerability and the basis for protecting certain audiences from targeted goods and services. It aims to evaluate the need for protection as well as marketers' defense that protection merely patronizes audiences. Design/methodology/approach...

Purpose – The intent of this article is to show why the use of Native American mascots, logos, and nicknames by sports teams perpetuates depictions that are perceived as harmful and racist by Native Americans. Design/methodology/approach – This article examines data from published research,...

Purpose – This article confronts the contradictory ideas surrounding diversity and the inconsistent efforts at embracing it. It aims to explore the reasons why marketing, recruitment, and philanthropic efforts differ for various groups, particularly African Americans, Hispanics, Asian...