Editorial Introduction

The whole world is watching.

This phrase gained prominence in 1968 as Chicago police attacked and arrested anti-Vietnam War protesters outside of the Democratic National Convention.¹ Since Advertising & Society Quarterly's last issue, this phrase has resonance now more than ever.

We are in a time that has similarities to major moments in the past: a global health crisis akin to the 1918 flu pandemic, an economic collapse reminiscent of the Great Depression of the 1930s, and massive protests against social injustices not unlike those from 1968 and 1969. The year 2020 has turned into a watershed moment where a series of shocking events and failures in leadership have resulted in urgent calls to change how institutions are structured to serve citizens and to recognize how society continues to marginalize various groups of people.

Will the COVID-19 pandemic lead to a reconfiguration of capitalism, changes in attitudes toward consumption, new models of governance, and the reorganization of work and education? Will outrage over the deaths of Black citizens at the hands of law enforcement officers bring about solutions for systemic racism? Will anger over the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is disproportionately impacting minority communities, lead to a revolution at the ballot box and in everyday life? How will these uncertain times impact today's children and the way that they see themselves, their communities, and their future? We are still in the thick of sorting out these questions, which makes it even more critical to pay extremely close attention to how advertising, a significant force in society, responds to and engages in cultural, economic, political, and social discussions.

Fig 1.

New Orleans-based artist Terrance Osborne shows women's important place in fighting the most significant crisis in recent history by depicting a woman of color rolling up the sleeves of her medical scrubs.² Iconic images like Rosie the Riveter from World War II have been repurposed to communicate significant messages as the COVID-19 crisis has unfolded.

Fig 2.

The City of New York used Twitter to recruit medical professionals. The image is reminiscent of Uncle Sam's patriotic call to duty found in a US Army poster from World War I. As of this writing, COVID-19 has hit the New York City region the hardest in the United States.³

Fig 3.

This famous US Army propaganda poster from World War I (circa 1917) of a sternly pointing Uncle Sam has been reused and recycled recently to inspire citizens to help where they can amid the pandemic.⁴

As ASQ has revealed over the last 20 years, advertising is not in some sort of commercial vacuum. In fact, it serves as the zeitgeist of the times as well as a force of change in society and culture. With this in mind, the journal will delve into pressing contemporary issues through a new section called Forum on the Current Moment. This issue's forum includes pieces that focus on the coronavirus pandemic:

• • As COVID-19 disrupted classrooms around the world, Jennifer Scanlon (Bowdoin) reflects on what it means to radically change one's course on consumer culture as economic and governing institutions seem to falter on a daily basis.

• • Mara Einstein (CUNY Queens College) addresses advertisers' and marketers' missteps in their early responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. She calls on the industry to be more sensitive to how well their messages resonate with people's situations and struggles, especially during a crisis.

• • Interviews with a group of artists who came together to create COVID-19 public service announcements to support musicians in need show how creativity, care, and empathy can be channeled quickly for the collective good.

• • As a way to preserve advertisers' responses to COVID-19 for future reflection, research, and teaching, ASQ editors put together and published a collection of over 100 ads released during the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All of this issue's other pieces continue the journal's mission of looking at advertising's significant place in...