James Woodard's sweeping study of twentieth-century Brazil asks how the country became so enamored with consumer culture. The answer lies in the “mad men” of Madison Avenue and other promoters of US-based or US-inspired consumerism. “The implantation and adaptation of institutions, practices, products, and modes of thought originally associated with the consumer capitalism of the United States,” writes Woodard, “stand out among the most salient developments in [Brazil's] history” (p. 4).
From the 1910s to the 1970s, Brazilians learned to love stuff. US penetration of the Brazilian market first faced competition from European goods, especially French ones, that dominated urban tastes. The world wars broke the spell of European appeal, and US corporations moved into the vacuum. General Motors and Ford literally paved the way by fostering a Brazilian love affair with the automobile. US forms and norms changed almost all consumer life in Brazil, from US-style bungalows to...
