The process of producing goods and services is relatively easy to
recognize as socially beneficial. But television ads?
Telemarketers? Jingles? Junk mail? It is popular to view these
commercial activities as inherently wasteful or manipulative,
marginally informative or entertaining, at best. The most
vociferous critics marshal economic and sociological data to argue
that advertising dilutes culture and moral values, encourages
conspicuous consumption, defrauds the public, and promotes
dangerous products and behaviors. In Selling the Dream, John Hood
takes the provocative stand that advertising images and sales
pitches are actually part of the goods and services themselves,
delivering an essential component of the consumer's experience. As
such, they are inextricably linked to the basic tenets of the
free-market system, and, in the boldest of terms, Hood argues that
commercial communication is morally consistent with the principles
of our democratic society, including freedom of choice,
competition, and innovation. Tracing the history of advertising
from Ancient Roman times to the present, through the first American
newspaper ad in 1704, P.T. Barnum's sophisticated hucksterism in
the 19th Century, and the emergence of the modern consumer society,
Hood offers a colorful account of advertising in its cultural
context. Moreover, he addresses such controversial issues as the
promotion of harmful and "immoral" products (such as tobacco and
alcohol), marketing to children, the role of advertising in service
industries such as health care and education, and the impact of the
Internet and other new media on the conduct of commerce. In the
process, he offers a compelling perspective onadvertising and its
essential role in business, communication, and popular culture.
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