Advertising is a form of communication that constantly impinges on our daily lives, yet we are often unaware of its more subtle form of persuasion, or of the extent to which it manipulates our (consumer) culture. This book sets out to examine advertising as a form of communication in contemporary society and also places it in its wider cultural and economic context.

Preface Introduction, What is advertising? Commercial consumer advertising, Mass communications, Public relations 1 The origins and development of advertising 2 The new advertising 3 The new media 4 The effects of advertising 5 What do advertisements mean? 6 Semiotics and ideology 7 The language of advertising 8 The rhetoric of advertising