I keep coming across cultural ideas whose origins lie in the commercial motivations of business. I wanted to bring them together here. The social norms are the most interesting to me, though some of the everyday ideas and language that has been manufactured by brands are interesting too.
Note that, for me anyway, something like the Michelin Guide (created by a tyre company to encourage people to drive more) doesn't count. While you can argue that they successfully created a norm - a shared way to rate restaurants - they haven't created an idea that changes behaviour. Compare it to the idea that champagne is a drink for celebration. That idea, while boosted by champagne houses in the 19th Century, was rooted in the coronation of French monarchs and in the secular traditions that replaced religious rituals post-revolution. The association impacts the behaviour of people all over the world when buying gifts and choosing drinks.
With that in mind, please send more examples and I will add them to the list.
It's also interesting to think about whether brands today and in the future can construct social norms and cultural ideas in the same way. TikTok trends do drive the behaviour of millions, for a moment, and then are quickly replaced by the next thing. And all the talk of our AI future is about the continued unravelling of one-to-many mass media in favour of one-to-one, personalised, tailored messaging. Can we still construct culture when no two people see the same thing?
Social norms constructed by brands
Smiling in photos was seeded by Kodak in advertisements to associate photography with fun and play. Source
Diamonds for engagement rings were popularised by by De Beers in the 1930s. Source
Claude C Hopkins seeded the US's toothbrushing habit by drawing attention to 'the film' (plaque) on people's teeth. Source
c. 3.6M households in Japan celebrate Christmas Day with KFC because of a campaign in the 70s.
“It filled a void,” Rokka says. “There was no tradition of Christmas in Japan, and so KFC came in and said, this is what you should do on Christmas.”
An honourable mention (as it wasn't for commercial gain and wasn't by a brand) for the designated driver campaign in the late 80s where Harvard's Center for Health Communication got the writers of popular TV shows (included Cheers, Dallas and LA Law) to insert references to designated drivers in their scripts. "Entertainment not only mirrors social reality, but also helps shape it by depicting what constitutes popular opinion, by influencing people’s perceptions of the roles and behaviors that are appropriate to members of a culture, and by modeling specific behaviors." Source
Popular cultural ideas constructed by brands
BP and Ogilvy & Mather "promoted and popularised" the term carbon footprint in an effort to shift climate responsibility away from big oil and onto individuals. Source
'Breakfast is the most important meal of the day' was a message seeded by Grape Nut cereal in 1944. Source
Fondue was popularised by a cartel of Swiss Cheese manufacturers (The Swiss Cheese Union) to increase sales of Swiss cheese. Source
Santa Claus wearing red was popularised by Coca Cola. He had been depicted wearing red before as well as green and other colours, but Coca Cola definitely helped cement the image of Santa in red. Source