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Why It Sells

Decoding the Meanings of Brand Names, Logos, Ads, and Other Marketing and Advertising Ploys

Marcel Danesi author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:21st Sep '07

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Why It Sells cover

Advertising plays a key role in defining contemporary culture worldwide, creating a variety of meanings in the minds of consumers. Intrigued by this process, Marcel Danesi—an entertaining and insightful tour guide—decodes the messages woven into the advertisements, commercials, brand names, and logos we see on a daily basis. Marketing-oriented messages are made, he notes, through techniques not unlike those used by artists, musicians, and other creative sources. Guiding readers through the basics of how to interpret ads, Danesi explores everything from product and package design to jingles, cyberadvertising, ad campaigns, global impacts, culture jamming, and advertising effects. Why It Sells will fascinate and inform all readers interested in how ads, marketing, and branding take hold in the consumer psyche.

This volume is easy to read and understand, and is supported with a glossary, reference, and list of online resources. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, faculty. * Choice Reviews *
Marcel Danesi achieves a goal to which many aspire: to write a book that is a pleasure to read, but which is informed by the most recent theories regarding how media's messages are created and then conveyed to the general public. We discover that the compelling, yet seemingly simple, information that ads provide rests on a profound insight into how meanings are produced and subsequently interpreted. This outstanding book adds to our growing understanding of how messages are created in our daily lives. -- Paul Colilli, professor, Laurentian University, and visiting professor, Middlebury College

ISBN: 9780742555457

Dimensions: 231mm x 154mm x 14mm

Weight: 358g

220 pages