Archive of Market and Social Research

A unique view of modern British history through market and social research surveys, reports and papers

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IN-DEPTH ESSAYS FROM THE ARCHIVE

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Stories from post-war to present-day

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS! FROM EVERYONE AT AMSR

How have British tastes in wine changed?

“Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!” Back in the 1980s, this announcement prompted...

What happened to Homebase?

Homebase featured on our High Streets (or more often Retail Parks) for over 40 years,...

Did market research save Jilly Cooper’s career?

The news of the sad death of Jilly Cooper brings to mind the report in the Archive on...

How has Guinness kept its brand fresh for over 25 years?

When a brand exists in different formats, its owners can apply portfolio management to...

Should cannabis be legalised?

Over the years, there have been calls for cannabis to be legalised or at least...

Are cricket fans bowled over by new formats? (Updated 2025)

Cricket: Tests and Challenges. The Test Cricket series just ended between England and...

Has corporal punishment of children been banished?

By parents: Britain is practically alone in Europe in not having legislation banning...

Was The Good Life ahead of its time?

It’s not often that a TV sitcom changes the habits of millions. But ‘The Good Life’ was...

Is support for capital punishment growing?

Arguments against the death penalty had been advanced in the 1950s, with a particular...

How typical a wine drinker is Bridget Jones?

In the 2025 film Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy the much-loved lead character is...

US presidential elections: is the UK more interested in issues than personalities?

Recent US presidential elections have been extensively covered in the British press....

Was the Cinzano ad campaign a win for the entire category?

Sometimes a TV campaign can have a positive effect on an entire category as well as the...

Were budget expectations worse than reality in October 2024?

The leading polling organisations have not so far published any poll covering what the...

What happened to Margaret Thatcher’s dream of a share-owning public?

The 1980s in Britain was the decade of big privatisations. The Prime Minister, Margaret...

Has politics become an inevitable part of sport?

When Emmanuel Macron announced the snap election back in June, IOC President Thomas Bach...

Is vinyl cool again?

Vinyl is cool again. Long-playing records, or LPs, have become a measure of the British...

Have we changed in the last 50 years?

There is a massive number of old survey results from the last 50+ years which are...

Did market research save the Dulux sheep dog?

In the late fifties ICI was Britain’s only truly global conglomerate and in its Paints...

What lessons can we learn from the last 50 years of General Elections?

With a general election likely to take place in 2024 it is worth looking back at lessons...

Have British attitudes to the environment changed?

An October 2020 poll by YouGov found that 67% of the British public wanted Britain to be...

What were we reading in 1956?

Geoff Wicken acquired a vintage readership survey report for AMSR. It has much to tell...

Do sunshine breaks pile on the stress?

A recent (August 2023) survey for the Office of National Statistics among 2,000 UK...

Are cricket fans bowled over by new formats? 2023 original

An Ashes series between England and Australia is for many cricket fans as good as it...

How popular were the royals 50 years ago?

Recent reports have commented on how the monarchy’s popularity has fallen in recent...

Have we witnessed the fall and rise of cinema?

As Warner Bros, one of the world’s leading film and entertainment companies, celebrates...

Were decimalisation and metrication bad for shoppers?

In the 1970s, price inflation was at least as big a political problem as it is today....

Is the National Lottery retaining its popularity?

Kantar recently published TGI figures reporting that 65% of GB adults have played either...

What have we learnt about preventing hypothermia and winter mortality in the old and poor?

As winter approaches, with fuel bills and inflationary pressures endangering the lives...

Has financing the BBC always been contentious?

Alternative funding methods for the BBC have been discussed for years. Back in the...

Platinum Jubilee – have we always loved the royals?

Newspapers regularly report the affection that the majority of the British public have...

How far has vegetarianism come since 1990?

Vegetarianism has come a long way since the 1990s, as this exploration of the Archive of...

Are upmarket consumers more likely to switch suppliers?

The latest advice seems to be that, at present, it is unlikely to be worth trying to...

Did 9/11 rock the public’s economic confidence?

Written 20 years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and other US...

Is hayfever on the rise?

Hayfever is far more prevalent than it used to be. Data held within AMSR shows that it...

Have football fans become more representative of the population?

Almost 30 years on from the launch of the Premier League in English football, we’ve seen...

Is the Census a good thing?

With the census in England & Wales recently completed and having generated a number...

What are the challenges of inequality?

While we live in an era dominated by post-Brexit politics and the pandemic, new...

Are consumers ready to splash out?

During lockdown, despite the loss of employment income for many, consumers have been...

How do we market in uncertain times?

Though the current recession looks like being the worst on record, some useful...

How does Christmas 1969 compare to now?

A look at two Christmas related research findings published 46 years apart, and accessed...

Are shy voters a pollster’s nightmare?

The recent election of Joseph Biden to the White House has raised familiar doubts...

What is the right time to call time at the bar?

Because of Covid, pubs are now closing at 10pm, resulting in a furore of dismay and much...

Is it really good to talk?

For many people the telephone has been a great source of support during lockdown. Not...

Do we want government control of our lives?

As we endure the long months of Covid-19, it is clear from recent (Aug 2020) YouGov...

Fancy a holiday abroad?

Taking a holiday abroad at the moment carries risks that we couldn’t have imagined a...

Who won the washing powder wars?

Contained within the Archive is the story of the battle fought in the late 1960s between...

How has Birds Eye continued to lead?

Much has changed in the convenience food sector. But by being alert to trends, Birds Eye...

Is sandwich culture on the rise?

To mark British Sandwich Week, 17-23 May, we have identified some issues relevant to the...

How do you measure the mood of the nation?

Measuring the mood of the nation: with lives and livelihoods both under threat at...

Do we like to be told what to do?

Any relaxations in lockdown restrictions, however cautious, shift the burden of...

Is staying in our new reality?

Staying in is set to be our new reality, for however long it proves. Going for an...

The NHS: How have attitudes and expectations changed?

With the nation applauding from their doorsteps, it is clear that belief in the care and...

Are we fit for the future?

As we hunker down, with most of us spending the majority of our time at home, it’s...

What are the lessons for Labour Leadership?

With the 2020 Labour leadership contest reaching towards its climax in April, what...

Have attitudes to the environment changed?

The continuous consumer study TGI has asked for respondents’ opinions on a range of...

Have we become less reliant on experts?

“People in this country have had enough of experts”, Michael Gove was famously quoted as...

Does school choice matter to parents?

As our schools reassemble after the long summer break, we can look at attitudes towards...

Is binge drinking OK?

Most people disapprove of heavy drinking sessions, but there’s an increasing minority...

Is the ‘MAMIL’ a new phenomenon?

The MAMIL may be a recently-minted humorous acronym for a certain breed of cyclist – the...

Is smoking in decline?

The decline in smoking in Britain has been happening for a long time. Data from Kantar’s...

What were we like in 1969-1972?

Among the most relevant uses of the material in the Archive of Market and Social...

Have we always been unsure about Europe?

Teresa May’s tenure as UK Prime Minister was characterised by her insistence on...

Is our knowledge of Christianity in decline?

Survey research data makes it clear that our knowledge and practice of Christianity is in full decline.

How have we changed since 1938?

Perhaps the earliest and most comprehensive measurement of British attitudes on...

Are Boomers the biggest boozers?

The ‘Boomer’ generation are often claimed to be the nation’s heaviest wine drinkers....

Have attitudes to women in the workplace changed?

The Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR) is collecting a record of research on...

Can research help us understand loneliness?

For many, Valentine’s Day is an occasion for declarations of love. For others, it might...

Was sponsorship of the 1986 Football World Cup worthwhile?

At the1987 MRS Annual Conference, whose papers are stored in the archive*, it was...

How was Gallup International set up?

Those interested in the historical perspectives of the polling industry may be...

Why invest in gold?

The World Gold Council’s Annual Review of 2017 asserts that there has been “a profound...

How have perceptions of contraception changed?

A report in the Autumn 1988 issue of Survey Magazine*, now freely accessible in the...

What are the concerns around obesity?

An Autumn 1988 Survey Magazine article, now easily accessible in the Archive via...

Are we any happier?

It’s not easy to move the happiness needle upwards. Thirty years of societal and...

What does the MORI Misery Index tell us about the 1990s?

“In Britain and all across Europe there seems to be a rising tide of pessimism and...

TGI: how did we move from packet tea to tea bags?

The victory of a new product format: Packet Tea and Tea Bags. When making tea, we almost...

How different are Millennials and Boomers?

Young adults’ concerns about debt are nothing new. Since the General Election, many...

TGI: how much has technology changed since the 1970s?

Televisions and telephones in the 1970s When TGI was first published in 1969,...

Can airlines exploit changing holiday patterns?

One of the headline stories in the sector this year has been the launch of sub-£200...

Are generational differences the fault line in Britain?

Generational differences are sometimes considered one of the fault lines in Britain...

what was healthy living in 2017?

The MRS held a Seminar in February 2017 looking at health, fitness and wellbeing and...

TGI: what did we eat in 1969?

Fishpaste, Rice Pudding, Yoghurt, Pasta Food usage reported by TGI in 1969 offers a...

Is sexual harassment old news?

1992’s workforce knew very well what constituted sexual harassment. What was tolerated...

How have our eating habits changed?

These days, any main street has a plethora of restaurants and cafes to suit every taste:...

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Professor James Curran

Professor of Communications, Goldsmiths, University of London

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Jane Frost CBE

CEO, Market Research Society

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Ben Highmore

Professor of Cultural Studies, University of Sussex

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Alice Naylor

AHRC/Science Museum Collaborative Doctoral Partnership student in Design History, Portsmouth University

“I’m a historian of food and drink, and have been looking at the growth of wine drinking. The AMSR has some great surveys and reports which have been so interesting and useful!”

Dr Stella Moss

Lecturer in Modern British History, Royal Holloway, University of London

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Dr Ben Clements

Associate Professor of Politics, Leicester University

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