Advertising cultures

The growth, success and secrets of advertizing are legendary. Advertizing agencies ceaselessly churn out evermore sophisticated campaigns that, when successful, manage to capture the every essence of consumer desire. The secrets of advertizing are perhaps best understood by turning to the relationship between advertizing and anthropology. The link between them may come as a surprise to those who consider advertizing to be firmly rooted in commerce and anthropology in culture. Through the lens of anthropologists, this book not only shows how anthropology and advertizing are connected, but exposes, through in-depth accounts based on personal experience, the inner workings of the advertizing industry. How do adverts manage to capture "real" life? What issues do agencies have to consider when using an advert in a range of different countries? What specific methods are used to persuade us to buy a product and remain loyal to that product? Analysis of human behaviour is at the core of all these questions and is what unites advertizers and anthropologists in their work. This book demonstrates exactly how the principles and techniques of anthropology are used in the advertizing industry and how anthropology can be used to give an informed cultural understanding of the consumer. From constructing a "Japaneseness" that appeals to two very different Western audiences, to tracking the changes, in the post World War II period, in advertizing, and considering how people can be influenced by language and symbols, this book is an innovative mix of business strategy and cultural theory. Its pioneering work should provide a valuable guide to consumer behaviour for practitioners and students alike, and should pave the way for a new and exciting area of research.