Featuring a new introduction by the author that considers the impact of technology and the electronic environment, this seminal history of mass marketing is an account of how the United States became the world's first and foremost consumer society.

Traces the emergence of standardized brand-name products for the mass market through corporate confrontations, shrewd financial agreements and inspirational sales programs.

Considering the roles of demographic change, advances in transportation and communication, and corporate culture, Tedlow illustrates the dynamics of competition by recounting the epic confrontations between Coke and Pepsi, Ford and GM, A&P and its rivals, and Sears and Montgomery Ward.