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POSTING TYPE: Obituaries

Posted by: Rita Assabgui

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Keith Hunt: The Passing of an ACR Era

1938-2026: H. Keith Hunt (Mister ACR)

Through my career in consumer behavior, there were few stronger implicit associations than the one between ACR and H. Keith Hunt. When I started attending the ACR conference in the early 1990s, ACR was Keith Hunt and Keith Hunt was ACR. His service to the association was legendary. When everything was done on paper, Keith and his family managed all the Board elections using the postal service. His basement was filled with proceedings to ship to members. His family all pitched in to get the proceedings, membership directories, and conference mailings sent out. I know it’s true because I’ve seen pictures. As a fresh doctoral student attending ACR conferences, I remember Keith Hunt standing at the entrance to the ballroom welcoming each and every member to the conference with that kind smile of his.

So, it is with profound sadness that I learned that the legendary H. Keith Hunt passed away last week at the age of 88. Keith will always be remembered as an ACR institution. The organization would not exist anywhere near its current form had it not been for his tireless efforts in setting up and then running the organization.

Keith served as ACR President in 1979, as conference chair for the 1977 conference in Chicago, and as Executive Secretary from 1982-1999. He received the first ever ACR Distinguished Service Award in 1989. His service to the association was so extraordinary that this award has only been given three times since. Most of us knew him as “Mister ACR.”

As a scholar, Keith’s work on satisfaction/dissatisfaction, corrective/counter advertising, and labeling, hoarding, and entrepreneurship among other areas is still influential. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior dedicated an entire section of their issue to the “” which is worth pursuing to see the incredible impact he had on so many related fields.

Incredibly, while serving as ACR Executive Secretary (essentially running the entire organization himself), he also served as American Academy of Advertising (AAA) President. He was named an AAA Fellow in 1987.

I could go on about Keith, but his contributions to ACR and the broader field have already been documented in the ACR Proceedings and in tributes at other outlets (selected references below).

For me personally, Keith’s passing seems like the passing of an era. Keith’s shadow looms large over ACR and I will always associate this organization with his name. May he rest in peace.

There will be a celebration of life in Utah on April 18, 2026. .

More about H. Keith Hunt:

Egan, L., & Aron, D. (2022). H. Keith Hunt on consumer behavior: Understanding his contribution. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 35, 201-217. See in this issue.

Kassarjian, H. H. (1991). Presentation of the Association for Consumer Research distinguished service award to H. Keith Hunt. ACR North American Advances, Volume 18. [attached]

Kernan, J. B. (2001). Touched By an Angel (Being a Hagiography of H. Keith Hunt’s Role in ACR’s History on the Occasion of His Retirement As Its Executive Secretary). ACR North American Advances. Volume 28.

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Dr. Rajiv Vaidyanathan
Executive Director
Association for Consumer Research