Ads, fads, and consumer culture: advertising's impact on American character and society

Intro -- Foreword / Fred S. Goldberg -- Preface to the Sixth Edition -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Advertising in American Society -- Advertising as a Puzzlement -- Growth of Digital Advertising -- Defining Advertising -- Advertising Agencies -- Max Weber on Religion and Consumer Cultures -- Advertising and Politics -- A Psycho-Cultural Perspective on Advertising -- A Brief Primer on Semiotics -- Running It Up a Flagpole to See If Anyone Salutes -- Commercials as Mini-Dramas and Works of Art -- Teleculture and the Internet -- The Super Bowl -- The Global Nature of Advertising Agencies -- Conclusion -- 2 Consumer Cultures -- A Cultural Critique of Advertising -- Consumer Cultures Defined -- Taste Cultures and Advertising -- The Postmodern Perspective -- The Problem of Emotions Overcoming Rationality -- Consumer Culture and Privatism -- Neiman Marcus and "Couthification" -- Needs Are Finite, Desires Are Infinite -- Are There Four Consumer Cultures, Not Just One? -- National Character and Consumer Cultures -- 3 Advertising and the Communication Process -- The Lasswell Formula -- Focal Points and the Study of Media -- Roman Jakobson's Model of the Communication Process -- Run It Up a Flagpole -- The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and Its Implications for Analyzing Advertisements -- Metaphor and Metonymy -- Myth and Marketing -- Integrated Marketing Communication --

4 Running It Up a Flagpole to See If Anyone Salutes

Lisa's Morning: A Fiction

Lisa Greatgal's and Johnny Q. Public's Daily Media Diet

Television Viewing and Exposure to Commercials

A Note on "Hauls"

The Price We Pay for "Free" Television

The Illusion of Control

Being a "Branded" Individual

Selling Oneself

Selling One's Body for Brands

The Problem of Self-Alienation

We Can Choose as We Please, but Can We Please as We Please?

The Agony of Choice

Nonadvertising Forms of Advertising

5 Sexuality and Gender in Advertising

Sex and Gender in Advertising

Sex in Advertising

Sexploitation and Anxiety

The Pseudopoetic Appeal to the Illiterati

Sex Appeal and Gender Appeal

Nonbinary Gender Consciousness

Sex and the Problem of Clutter

6 Political Advertising

The Cost of Presidential Campaigns

The Cost of the 2012 Presidential Election

Questions Raised by the Election Campaigns

A Note on the California Campaign for Governor in 2010

The 2016 Presidential Election

The Code of the Commercial (and Other Political Advertising)

The Emotional Basis of Partisan Politics

7 The Marketing Society

Statistics on Advertising

More Comments on the Illusion of Freedom

The Marketing View

The VALS 1 Typology

Using the VALS 1 Typology: A Case Study

VALS 2: A Revision of the VALS 1 Typology

ZIP Codes and Kinds of Consumers

The Claritas Typology

Magazine Choice as an Indicator of Consumer Taste

Types of Teenage Consumers

Blogs and Marketing

1. Advertising in American society -- Advertising as a puzzlement -- Max Weber on religion and consumer cultures -- Advertising and politics -- Defining advertising -- Advertising agencies -- A psycho-cultural perspective on advertising -- Running it up a flagpole to see if anyone salutes -- Commercials as mini-dramas and works of art -- Teleculture and the Internet -- The Super Bowl -- Conclusion --

2. Consumer cultures -- A cultural critique of advertising -- Consumer cultures defined -- Taste cultures and advertising -- The postmodern perspective -- The problem of emotions overcoming rationality -- Consumer culture and privatism -- Neiman Marcus and "couthification" -- Needs are finite, desires are infinite -- Mimetic desire -- Are there four consumer cultures, not just one? -- Classified advertising --

3. Advertising and the communication process -- The Lasswell Formula -- Focal points and the study of media -- The Lasswell Formula and focal points -- A problem with the Lasswell Formula -- Metaphor and metonymy -- Metaphor and identity: I am a seashell --

4. Running it up a flagpole to see if anyone salutes -- Lisa's morning: a fiction -- Lisa Greatgal's and Johnny Q. Public's daily media diet -- Television viewing and exposure to commercials -- Our all-consuming passion for consuming -- A note on "hauls" -- The price we pay for "free" television -- The illusion of control -- Being a "branded individual" -- Selling oneself -- Selling oneself for brands -- The problem of self-alienation -- We can choose as we please, but can we please as we please? -- The agony of choice -- Non-advertising forms of advertising --

5. Sexuality and advertising -- Sex in advertising -- Sexploitation and anxiety -- the peach that became a prune: a cautionary fable -- The pseudo-poetic appeal to the illiterati -- Sex appeal and gender appeal -- Sex sells cigarettes -- The case of Joe Camel -- Sex and the problem of clutter --

6. Political advertising -- Kinds of political advertisements -- The 1998 California primary: a "virtual" campaign for governor -- Questions raised by the "virtual" campaign -- The 2002 California campaign for governor -- The 2010 California campaign for governor -- The cost of presidential campaigns -- The code of the commercial (and other political advertising) -- The emotional basis of partisan politics -- The death of the Tobacco Bill --

7. The marketing society -- Statistics on advertising -- More comments on the illusion of freedom -- The marketing view -- Maslow's Theory of Needs -- The VALS 1 Typology -- Using the VALS 1 Typology: a case study -- Zip codes and kinds of consumers -- The Claritas Typology -- Magazine choice as an indicator of consumer taste -- Types of teenage consumers -- Blogs and marketing -- A typology for everyone in the world -- A comparison of the different typologies -- A conclusion in the form of a question --

8. Analyzing print advertisements, or, Six ways of looking at a Fidji perfume advertisement -- Lotman's contributions to understanding texts -- What's there to analyze in advertising? -- Analyzing the Fidji ad -- A semiotic interpretation of the Fidji advertisement -- A psychoanalytic interpretation of the Fidji advertisement -- A sociological interpretation of the Fidji advertisement -- A Marxist interpretation of the Fidji advertisement -- The myth model and the Fidji advertisement -- A feminist interpretation of the Fidji advertisement -- Conclusion --

9. Analyzing television commercials: the Macintosh "1984" commercial -- A synopsis of the text -- The background -- George Orwell's 1984 and Ridley Scott's "1984" -- The image of the total institution -- The prisoners' boots -- The blond as symbol -- The brainwashing scenario -- The Big Brother figure -- The brainwasher's message -- The big explosion -- The inmates' response -- The Macintosh announcement -- The heroine as mythic figure -- Psychoanalytic aspects of the commercial -- The blond as mediator -- Alienated proles -- The Big Blue -- A clever marketing strategy -- The "1984" commercial and a bit of scholarly research --

10. Where next?

Drug advertising

Children and advertising

Battling for people's attention

Cell phones, social media, and advertising.

1. Advertising in American society

Advertising as a puzzlement

Defining advertising

Advertising agencies

A psycho-cultural perspective on advertising

Running it up a flagpole to see if anyone salutes

Commercials as mini-dramas and works of art

Teleculture

The Super Bowl

Conclusion

2. Consumer cultures

A cultural critique of advertising

Consumer cultures defined

Taste cultures and advertising

The postmodern perspective

Consumer culture and privatism

Neiman Marcus and "couthification"

Needs are finite, desires are infinite

Mimetic desire

Are there four consumer cultures, not just one?

Classified advertising

3. Advertising and the communication process

The Lasswell formula

Focal points and the study of media

The Lasswell formula and focal points

A problem with the Lasswell formula

Metaphor and metonymy

4. Running it up a flagpole to see if anyone salutes

Lisa's morning : a fiction

Lisa Greatgal's and John Q. Public's daily media diet

Television viewing and exposure to commercials

Our all-consuming passion for consuming

The price we pay for "free" television

The illusion of control

Being a "branded individual"

Selling oneself

The problem of self-alienation

We can choose as we please, but can we please as we please?

The agony of choice

Non-advertising forms of advertising.

5. Sexuality and advertising

Sex in advertising

Sexploitation and anxiety

The peach that became a prune : a cautionary fable

The pseudo-poetic appeal to the illiterate

Sex sells cigarettes

The case of Joe Camel

Sex and the problem of clutter

6. Political advertising

Kinds of political advertisements

The 1998 California primary : a "virtual" campaign for governor

Questions raised by the "virtual" campaign

The 2002 California campaign for governor

The code of the commercial (and other political advertising)

The emotional basis of partisan politics

The death of the tobacco bill

7. The marketing society

Statistics on advertising

More comments on the illusion of freedom

The marketing view

The VALS 1 typology

Using the VALS 1 typology : a case study

VALS 2 : a revision of the VALS 1 typology

Zip codes and kinds of consumers

The Claritas typology

Magazine choice as an indicator of consumer taste

Types of teenage consumers

Blogs and marketing

A typology for everyone in the world

A comparison of the different typologies

A conclusion in the form of a question.

8. Analyzing print advertisements, or : Six ways of looking at a Fidji perfume advertisement

Lotman's contributions to understanding texts

What's there to analyze in an advertisement?

Analyzing the Fidji ad

A semiotic interpretation of the Fidji advertisement

A psychoanalytic interpretation of the Fidji advertisement

A sociological interpretation of the Fidji advertisement

A Marxist interpretation of the Fidji advertisement

The myth model and the Fidji advertisement

A feminist interpretation of the Fidji advertisement

9. Analyzing television commercials

The Macintosh "1984" commercial

A synopsis of the text

The background

George Orwell's 1984 and Ridley Scott's "1984"

The image of the total institution

The prisoners' boots

The blond as symbol

The brainwashing scenario

The big brother figure

The brainwasher's message

The big explosion

The inmates' response

The Macintosh announcement

The heroine as mythic figure

Psychoanalytic aspects of the commercial

The blond as mediator

Alienated proles

The big blue

A clever marketing strategy

The "1984" commercial and a bit of scholarly research

10. Where next?

Drug advertising

Children and advertising

Battling for people's attention

Appendix. Useful Web sites

Glossary.

Advertising in American society --

Consumer cultures --

Advertising and the communication process --

Running it up a flagpole to see if anyone salutes --

Sexuality and advertising --

Political advertising --

Marketing society --

Analyzing print advertisements --

Analyzing television commercials: the Macintosh "1984" commercial --

Where next?