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here was a series of brutal crimes against prostitutes in London, England, in the late 1880s and early 1890s, climaxed by a series of more than a half-dozen heinous murders in the late summer of 1888 through the next fall, known to history as the Jack the Ripper murders. These crimes were characterized by almost supernaturally stealthy murders and horrible mutilations, including removal of body parts. The offender was never apprehended, and the crimes ceased as suddenly and mysteriously as they began.
I suggest a decidedly radical new explanation for the Ripper crimes, a rhetorical one. The Ripper crimes essentially comprised a complete, pre-modern integrated marketing communication campaign. This multi-media, pre-electronic media era-campaign was a deliberate rhetorical effort, designed to produce affective, cognitive, and behavioral changes in a specific target audience.
Using primarily historical/critical methods, I offer an explanation of the Ripper crimes as a persuasive campaign designed to facilitate a contemporary British social movement. We will initially consider the significance of the Ripper crimes, then consider the confluence of social movements operant at the time of the Ripper crimes. The Ripper public relations campaign will be described in detail; five prominent campaign tactics will be identified and exemplified; special events, news releases, outdoor, promotional/specialty advertising, and media relations.
The Significance of the Ripper Crimes
It is relatively easy to document the significance of the Ripper crimes. The unsolved nature of the crime seems to warrant on-going public and investigative interest, as does the Ripper's alleged status as the first modern serial killer. We will note the significant continuing interest in this case, as well as the Ripper's effect on the codes of amity and enmity in Great Britain.
First Modern Serial Killer
"Until Jack the Ripper, nearly all crime had been economic in origin," declared British ex-policeman and writer Donald Rumbelow. He added, "Then came the Ripper, first in a long line of maniac killers." Sugden agreed with Rumbelow's assessment, "The Ripper heralded the rise of the modern serial killer. He was not the earliest such offender. But he was the first of international repute and the one that first burned the problem of the random killer into police and popular consciousness."
This fact was at least partially realized at the time of the...