Promoting the Pint: Ale and Advertising in late Victorian and Edwardian England

Social class tensions, habitus and the advertising of Guinness

“…This perhaps contributed to the reluctance of some to engage in the practice 2 or alternatively to adopt a more discreet approach (Church, 2000). Yet, as an overall explanation for the ambivalence or hostility towards advertising it is somewhat problematic in that there remains considerable evidence (see Gutzke, 1984; Reinarz, 2007) to suggest, as we do here, that a wider class prejudice overshadowed this.…”

“…It is important to emphasize that the decision to advertise in continental Europe should be conceived processually. What we mean here is that that decision should be construed as a further step in the move towards more overt advertising rather than the initiation of advertising per se; a position that has symmetries with Reinarz’s (2007) analysis of nineteenth century beer advertising. Prior to this the promotion of Guinness was widespread though primarily directed and controlled by and through intermediaries.…”

“…As the degree of competitiveness pervading the British brewing industry increased at the turn of the twentieth century the functional importance attributed to promotional activities increased across the wider brewing figuration (Reinarz, 2007). One manifestation of this was the increasing number of direct appeals to brewers from intermediaries – those in retailing and distribution functions – to support their promotional efforts in both domestic and export markets.…”

“…For Cronin, much of this unwillingness to advertise was on the grounds of perceived uncertainly around ‘the persuasive potential’ of advertising (2004: 24). Others noted the pernicious image of advertising throughout the 1800s following the often unscrupulous advertising activities and promises of some medical practitioners in both Ireland and Britain (Nevett, 1982; Reinarz, 2007; Strachan and Nally, 2012). This perhaps contributed to the reluctance of some to engage in the practice 2 or alternatively to adopt a more discreet approach (Church, 2000).…”

Habitus, social elevation, and the channel of shame‐fear: The decision to expand Guinness advertising

“…Advertising, it would seem, was one such practice. Several business historians have noted the reluctance of some business owners to advertise, or the tendency to adopt a more cautious approach towards it, in the late nineteenth century (see Church, 2000;Reinarz, 2007). While this reluctance can in some cases be attributed to unease about the efficacy of advertising it was also connected to concerns as to whether advertising was a dignified practicean activity a gentleman could engage in without losing status and self-respect.…”