The Rise of Woke Propaganda

The Road to Consumer Nationalism Part 2

Edward Bernays’ 1936 General Motors Parade of Progress

This is the second part in a four part series called The Road to Consumer Nationalism. Part 1 2 3 4.

After the 2016 election, TV ads became unmoored from the products they purported to sell. We all noticed it. Budweiser abandoned its Super Bowl Clydesdales for sappy, utterly fabricated schlock about the immigration journey of a young Adolphus Busch—he’s told “You don’t look like you’re from around here,” by evil nativist puritans, you know, just the sort of vicious microaggression Trump supporters commit against the brave, stunning progressives of today! Elsewhere, models got fat. Chipotle asked “Homo Estas?” Kendall Jenner solved racism with a Pepsi. A transgender bride sold insurance in the rain. Wasn’t it all just so ironic?

Many in advertising, myself included, were shocked by woke washing, interpreting it as a naked attack not just on capitalism but on everyday Americans. Why was men’s shaving cream forwarding far left gender th…