Through its artful engagement with consumers, advertising subtly shapes our everyday worlds. It plays upon powerful emotions -- envy, fear, lust and ambition. But the industry itself is far more subtle and complex than many people might assume. Through an innovative mix of business strategy and cultural theory, this pioneering book provides a behind-the-scenes analysis of the link between advertising and larger cultural forces, as well as a rare look into the workings of agencies themselves. How do advertisements endeavour to capture real life? How do advertising agencies think of their audience: the consumer and their corporate client? What issues do agencies have to consider when using an advertisement in a range of different countries? What specific methods are used to persuade us not only to buy but to remain loyal to a product? How do advertisers fan consumer desire? An incisive understanding of human behaviour is at the core of all these questions and is what unites advertisers and anthropologists in their work. While this link may come as a surprise to those who consider the former to be firmly rooted in commerce and the latter in culture, this book clearly shows that these two fields share a remarkable number of convergences. From constructing a Japaneseness that appeals to two very different Western audiences, to tracking advertising changes in the post World War II period, to considering how people can be influenced by language and symbols, Advertising Cultures is an indispensable guide to the production of images and to consumer behaviour for practitioners and students alike.

The economic and cultural role of the `creative industries' has gained a new prominence and centrality in recent years. These worlds are explored here through the most emblematic creative industry: advertising. Advertising Cultures presents a case-study of the social make-up, informal cultures and subjective identities of these creative practices.

The economic and cultural role of the `creative industries' has gained a new prominence and centrality in recent years. These worlds are explored here through the most emblematic creative industry: advertising. Advertising Cultures presents a case-study of the social make-up, informal cultures and subjective identities of these creative practices.

The Rise and Spread of Advertising, Public Relations, Marketing and Branding.

Globalization stems from many sources, but as Thomas Gould makes clear, advertising is a primary driver of trans-global cultural change. Gould argues that advertising often carries unfiltered and unblocked cultural messages in addition to commercial speech; as such, it not only builds consumer demand to open new markets but also changes consumer expectations and values. At the same time, the evolution of increasingly targeted mobile and social marketing is transforming local and regional cultures into a new mix of global branding and individualized micro-space. Gould examines how advertising professionals negotiate these rocky and quickly-changing cultural terrains. He also explores how advertising—an increasingly global form of communication—is becoming a platform for change at the individual level, and as a direct consequence, at the social and political levels.

Is it possible that consumers exploit advertising even more so than advertising exploits and influences our culture? Author Jib Fowles argues that consumers look to advertising to provide them with images that can assist them in negotiating the personal dilemmas of advanced industrial life. Advertising and Popular Culture is the first comprehensive text to provide a balanced analysis of advertising and its companion, the popular culture, conveyed through the mass media. Reflecting current theories, this thoughtful critique uses excerpts from advertising campaigns to illustrate how modern advertising both draws from and contributes to popular culture. Fowles traces the role of advertising in our culture from its evolution as part of the culture of mass consumption in the late 19th century, the development of advertising agencies, and the creation of a consumer culture to an exploration of the major themes of American advertising. Advertising and Popular Culture represents a fresh and fully elaborated conceptualization of the services that advertising and popular culture provide. This text will be a vital tool in departments and schools of advertising, journalism, and communication where increasing emphasis is being placed on studying the cultural significance of advertising.

Expanded and updated from the successful first edition, Ads, Fads, and Consumer Culture, second edition is an engaging cultural studies critique of advertising and its impacts on American society. Arthur Asa Berger looks at marketing strategies, sex and advertising, consumer culture, political advertising, and communication theory and process to give an accessible overview of advertising in America. The new edition features additions to flesh out earlier topics as well as new theoretical material. New discussions include classified advertising, advertising agencies in the recent economy, postmodern perspectives on advertising, new consumer cultures, metaphor and metonymy, product placement, and the 2002 California campaign for governor. A new chapter raises questions about prescription drug advertising and advertising to children.

This is the first scholarly book dedicated to reading the work of contemporary filmmakers and their impact on modern marketing and advertising. Drawing from consumer culture theory, film and media studies, the author presents an expansive analysis of a range of renowned filmmakers who have successfully applied their aesthetic and narrative vision to commercial advertising. It challenges some traditional advertising tropes and sheds light on the changing nature of advertising in the contemporary media context. Utilising Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of assemblage, this book addresses themes of spatiality and time, narrative and aesthetics and consumer reception within a new frame of reference that re-contextualises classical concepts of genre, platform and aesthetic categories. These diverse elements are embedded into a larger discussion of the resonance of contemporary advertising for consumer culture and the implications of the hybridity characteristic of convergent media platforms for understanding the potential of advertising in the twenty-first century. It offers a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary perspective for researchers, academics, and practitioners working in marketing communications, advertising, and media studies.

This text introduces the challenges and difficulties faced in developing and implementing communications programs for foreign markets, presenting an overview of the cultural, economic, legal, political, and social conditions relevant to international advertising and provides a balance of theoretical and practical perspectives.

One part riveting account of fieldwork and one part rigorous academic study, Brand New China offers a unique perspective on the advertising and marketing culture of China. Jing Wang’s experiences in the disparate worlds of Beijing advertising agencies and the U.S. academy allow her to share a unique perspective on China during its accelerated reintegration into the global market system. Brand New China offers a detailed, penetrating, and up-to-date portrayal of branding and advertising in contemporary China. Wang takes us inside an advertising agency to show the influence of American branding theories and models. She also examines the impact of new media practices on Chinese advertising, deliberates on the convergence of grassroots creative culture and viral marketing strategies, samples successful advertising campaigns, provides practical insights about Chinese consumer segments, and offers methodological reflections on pop culture and advertising research. This book unveils a “brand new” China that is under the sway of the ideology of global partnership while struggling not to become a mirror image of the United States. Wang takes on the task of showing where Western thinking works in China, where it does not, and, perhaps most important, where it creates opportunities for cross-fertilization. Thanks to its combination of engaging vignettes from the advertising world and thorough research that contextualizes these vignettes, Brand New China will be of interest to industry participants, students of popular culture, and the general reading public interested in learning about a rapidly transforming Chinese society.