The 1895-1904 "trust" consolidation period reshaped American industry in ways that had significant implications for the practice of advertising as it was then developing. In order to evaluate these influences, this study explored the impact of these consolidations directly as they related to advertising by examining the coverage of these trusts as this appeared in the major advertising-trade journals at the time. These trade publications have served as a key research source for advertising historians, frequently serving as evidence to explain how advertising was conceptualized and practiced. The five publications that were reviewed, particularly during the peak consolidation years of 1898-1902, were Advertising Experience, Fame, The National Advertiser, Printers' Ink, and Profitable Advertising.

Scholars representing different theoretical viewpoints about how advertising influences social and economic activities and values have acknowledged the importance of historical research in supporting their arguments. The views of three sets of these scholars who have specifically written about advertising—those representing reflective, neo-Marxist, and cultural materialist (or cultural studies) perspectives—were all considered in evaluating the research.

The study explored the following key topics: (a) comparisons between the publications in their coverage of and attitudes about the trusts; (b) an evaluation of the year-to-year shifts in attitudes between 1898 and 1902; (c) comparisons between the trust-related attitudes of advertiser, advertising agency, and media (magazine and newspaper) executives; (d) comparisons between different types of advertisers; and (e) an evaluation of the evidence about whether there was any support within these magazines for any of the three analytical frameworks studied (i.e., reflective, neo-Marxist, cultural materialist).

The study concluded that advertising history needs to be considered from a more dynamic perspective than is the case with many theories. The practice of advertising was evolutionary and influenced by multiple and even competing themes and narratives, especially during the seminal 1898-1902 period. Additionally, as to the three theoretical frameworks examined, the study found that at different points in time and as expressed differently in different publications, advertising practitioners could be identified with varying positions which could be aligned with different theories about advertising and its relation to society.