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This article contributes to the macromarketing field of study by tracing its evolution through five distinct stages. (1) In Era I (1900-1920), macromarketing was the raison d’etre of the marketing discipline. (2) In Era II (1920-1950), macromarketing became the marketing discipline’s central focus. (3) In Era III (1950-1980), marketing management displaced macromarketing as the discipline’s central focus, but macromarketing continued to be an important part of the discipline. (4) In Era IV (1980-2020), macromarketing became one of four, major, institutionalized fields of study in the marketing discipline, with the others being consumer behavior, quantitative/modeling, and marketing management/strategy. (5) In Era V (2020-?), macromarketing is well-positioned to be not only a major field within the marketing discipline, but also a field of significant promise.

As society has become more diverse and inclusive, so do the images portrayed in advertising. Using an historical research method, we gather data on political, legal, demographic, social, and cultural changes in American society, and changes in the content and messages of American advertising. We develop a framework to describe the process of how advertising and society interact. Our findings demonstrate that advertisers, in their efforts to reach their audiences, use images and language that are familiar and comfortable. Advertisers are also cautious not to alienate consumers and other stakeholders. We also suggest that marketers’ ethical obligation drives them to take a stakeholders perspective, particularly in advertising, resulting in messages that are more representative of society and at times attempt to influence society. Our study focuses on three areas of social interest: race (primarily African Americans), LGBTQ, and women’s roles as portrayed in advertising.

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