Far more than a means of moving merchandise, advertising has become increasingly recognized not only as an art form in itself, but also as a defining element of popular culture.
Advertising Today
provides a thematic overview of the evolution of advertising around the world over the past 30 years, charting influences from the political and social upheavals of the 1960s to the revolution of the internet in the 1990s.
Each chapter includes an intimate interview with a key figure in advertising - including Oliviero Toscani of the controversial Benetton campaigns, American-Express spokesperson Jerry Seinfeld, and John Hegarty of Bartle Boyle Hegarty, the creator of the world-famous Levis ads.
In analysing specific advertisements, the book simultaneously acts as a history of global pop culture and a record of the social, cultural and geo-political temperature changes that affect our image-saturated environment. Included are over 500 advertisements originally seen in a wide range of media: print, television, billboards, the internet and even very recent, so-called 'guerrilla' advertising, in which practically anything (pieces of fruit, sand dunes on a beach, pavements) can act as a surface for promoting a product.
Reviews / Votes
'Browsing through this facinating book will certainly evoke memories as products and their slogans are revealed.' (County Times, Welshpool) 'With more gorgeous images than you can shake a stick at, it's a great addition to that new coffee table you bought after seeing the Ikea ad on TV, and now it's out in paperback, it won't break the legs of the table either.' (Ideasfactory) 'Berger's book contains stunning full-page colour reproductions of advertisements accompanied by captions that explain each ad's impact on society...He also offers insightful interviews with a handful of the industry's major players...The result is a book that's a lot like advertising: big, bold, entertaining and full of itself.' (Azure) 'Advertising Today provides something new: a chronological survey of the industry that also charts the seismic changes in our social landscape over the past 50 years.' (Azure)
Edition
Language
Place of publication
Edition type
Dimensions
Height: 29 cm
Width: 25 cm
Weight
ISBN-13
978-0-7148-4387-2 (9780714843872)
Schweitzer Classification
Warren Berger is a journalist who is particularly well known for his writing on advertising. He has written for industry publications such as
Advertising Age
,
Adweek
,
Graphis
and
Communication Arts
, and for the mainstream press, including
The New York Times
,
The Los Angeles Times
,
GQ
and
Wired
, where he is currently contributing editor.
Chapter 1. Introduction: Why Advertising Matters. Honestly. Chapter 2. When Ads Got Smart (interview: George Lois of Doyle Dane Bernbach, creator of the Volkswagen ads of the 1960s); Chapter 3. A New "Visual Language" Emerges (interview: Nizan Guanaes of Brazil); Chapter 4. The Cinematic New Wave of Commercials (interview: Indian/European commercial director Tarsem Singh); Chapter 5. Nike and the Postmodern Ad Revolution (interview: Jim Riswold, creative director at Wieden & Kennedy, which created the "Just Do It" campaign); Chapter 6. The Rise of "Oddvertising" (interview: London's John Hegarty, creator of Levi's campaigns); Chapter 7. Pushing the Limits (interview: Oliviero Toscani, creator of Benetton campaigns); Chapter 8. The Faces of Advertising (interview: Jerry Seinfeld); Chapter 9. Advertising as an Agent of Social Change (interview: Doria Steedman, Partnership for a Drug-Free America); Chapter 10. The New Commandments (interview: Anita Santiago, founder and creative director of one of the first Hispanic ad agencies in the U.S.); Chapter 11. Dreams of Cream: Deconstructing Three Modern Classics - "Got Milk" of America; Parmalat milk of Brazil; and Boddington's "Cream" beer of the U.K. (interview: Jeff Goodby, "Got Milk" creator); Chapter 12. The New Global Hot Spots (interview: Kitty Lun, one of the top ad creators in Asia); Chapter 13. Guerrilla Advertising: Taking it to the Streets (interview: underground figure "Jack Napier" of The Billboard Liberation Front); Chapter 14. The Next Wave (interview: Esther Dyson, author of influential books and newsletters on technology); Endmatter; Notes; Advertising agency profiles; Chronology; Bibliography; Index
