The Story Of Advertising

A New York Times bestseller, Absolut Book is the behind-the-scenes account of the birth and growth of this award-winning campaign and provides a definitive illustrated history of one of the most successful ad campaigns ever. It is a collector's delight with nearly five hundred ads.

Advertising has always been a uniquely influential social force. It affects what we buy, what we believe, who we elect, and so much more. We tend to know histories of other massive social forces, but even people working in advertising often have a tenuous grasp of their field's background. This book slices advertising's history into a smörgåsbord of specific topics like advertising to children, political advertising, people's names as advertisements, 3D advertising, programmatic buying, and so much more, offering a synopsis of how each developed and the role it played in this discipline. In doing so, many firsts are identified, such as the first full-page color magazine advertisement, and the first point-of-purchase advertisement. This book also reaches back farther in search of the earliest advertisements, and it tells the story of the variety of techniques used by our ancestors to promote their products and ideas. Part textbook, part reference, the book is an advertising museum in portable form suitable for all levels of students, scholars, and arm-chair enthusiasts. (Please note that the hardback and eBook formats of this book feature full-color printing. The paperback is grayscale.)

A critical and entertaining exploration of advertising and its influence. For children growing up in an advertising-saturated world, here’s an eye-opening explanation of what it is, how it works and why that matters. The book covers everything from the components of an ad campaign to the ways marketers seek to influence behavior, then brings it all to life by creating two fictional advertising plans. It also describes how digital technology allows companies to track people and how that impacts privacy. It’s a savvy look at the business of advertising that empowers kids to think critically and be discerning. Kids are suckers for advertising? Not the ones who read this book!

In 1987, Nike released their new sixty-second commercial for Air shoes„and changed the face of the advertising industry. Set to the song ñRevolutionî by the Beatles, the commercial was the first and only advert ever to feature an original recording of the Fab Four. It sparked a chain of events that would transform the art of branding, the sanctity of pop music, the perception of advertisers in popular culture, and John LennonÍs place in the leftist imagination. Advertising Revolution traces the song ñRevolutionî from its origins in the social turmoil of the Sixties, through its controversial use in the Nike ad, to its status today as a right-wing anthem and part of Donald TrumpÍs campaign set list. Along the way, the book unfolds the story of how we came to think of Nike as the big bad wolf of soulless corporations, and how the Beatles got their name as the quintessential musicians of independent integrity. To what degree are each of these reputations deserved? How ruthlessly cynical was the process behind the Nike ad? And how wholesomely uncommercial was John LennonÍs writing of the song? Throughout the book, Alan Bradshaw and Linda Scott complicate our notions of commercialism and fandom, making the case for a reading of advertisements that takes into account the many overlapping intentions behind what we see onscreen. Challenging the narratives of the evil-genius ad conglomerate and the pure-intentioned artist, they argue that we can only begin to read adverts productively when we strip away the industryÍs mysticism and approach advertisers and artists alike as real, flawed, differentiated human beings.

This is an updated version of the first volume of a seven volume, comprehensive examination of the history of advertising that covers its early origins through until the 21st century. Books on the history of advertising are few and far between, and none encompass a global view. More critically, few look closely at the advertising industry's product: its creative work and how this has evolved - particularly over the last 150 years or so. Add to this that the author worked in the business around the world, on some of the biggest advertisers and at the pinnacle of creative excellence, and this too defines the uniqueness of this series. There has been a deliberate attempt to capture what it was truly like to work in the business beyond just the anecdote laden, rose-tinted memories that abound. Volume One looks at the early origins of advertising, its genesis in the 18th century, and how it flourished in the 20th century. Much of what is covered has not been looked at before in any depth, and certainly not by creating a coherent picture of the business and the reality lying behind the way the advertising was both influential and influenced.