The Role of Corporations in Influencing Culture

From Christmas to Diwali, commercial actors seek to link the consumption of certain products to cultural events or to promote cultural shifts in ways that might protect or increase sales. Indeed, certain products and brands have seemingly permanent pride of place amid society’s most hallowed cultural institutions. However, from the co-opting of female empowerment by the tobacco industry in the early 20th century to the links between gambling and football, or Christmas and soft drinks, culture is often deliberately shaped and changed in ways that suit commercial interests. To encourage more healthful social norms and environments, it is important that the nature of culture and the role of commercial actors in shaping it be examined. This chapter describes the role of commercial actors in shaping cultural norms, including learning from examples in which such cultural norms, such as tobacco use, have evolved and been influenced over time.