Faculty Publications

Sending Bundles Of Hope: The Use Of Female Celebrities In Bundles For Britain’s Public Relations Campaign

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book/Conference Title

American Journalism

Volume

14

Issue

3-4

First Page

376

Last Page

390

Abstract

This article examines the blend of gender and celebritydom in the successful public relations effort of Bundles for Britain, the largest independent U.S. voluntary organization for British relief on the American homefront between 1940-1942. To promote Bundles’ goals, its founder and first president, Natalie Wales Latham, used the patronage of prominent women on both sides of the Atlantic, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Sara Delano Roosevelt, Clementine Churchill, the Queen of England, Janet Murrow and others. Bundles’ humanitarian mission, highlighted by the glow of female celebrities, anticipated the future direction of American foreign policy and helped churn popular support for the passage of the Lend-Lease Act.

Department

Department of Communication Studies

Original Publication Date

1-1-1997

DOI of published version

10.1080/08821127.1997.10731931

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