Advertising and the Hawaiian Pineapple Canning Industry, 1929—39

Abstract

In 1931, the Hawaiian pineapple canning industry was belatedly affected by the collapse of its principal market, the continental United States, which was in the depths of the Great Depression. The pineapple canners lost half of that market and prospects for recovery looked bleak. Canned pineapple was a nonessential food. However, the canners formed a new industry association and engineered a remarkable recovery during the remainder of the 1930s. It is often argued that those industries or companies that continue to invest in advertising during economic downturns experience better outcomes than those that either cut or eliminate expenditure on advertising. The few case studies that exist support this hypothesis. This historical case study suggests that advertising played a key role in the Hawaiian pineapple industry's revival, whereas the disorganized Californian peach canning industry, which invested less in advertising, remained in crisis throughout most of the 1930s.