"Promotional Culture" is a critical reflection—both cultural and sociological—on the impact of advertising on the shaping of contemporary culture.
Advertising has long been analysed as a pervasive disseminator of cultural values. In a detailed analysis of advertisements as promotional texts, Andrew Wernick shows how its impact on cultural formation has become increasingly fundamental with the spread of the market into every facet of social life. The resulting promotional culture has transformed the character of all forms of communication.
Moving beyond a simple critique of advertising as an ideological process, "Promotional Culture" relates its impact to the broad social processes analysed under the label of postmodernism. Andrew Wernick traces the impact of promotion from the selling of consumer goods to the spheres of electoral politics and the university. In doing so he poses fundamental questions not only about the shape of contemporary societies but also about the individual as an acting and communicating subject.
This broad-ranging book will be welcomed by a readership in cultural and media studies and by students of contemporary societies across a variety of disciplines. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)