Decoding Advertisements by Judith Williamson

Decoding Advertisements by Judith Williamson

This book, now considered a classic, sets out not simply to criticize advertisements on the grounds of dishonesty and exploitation, but to examine in detail, through over a hundred illustrations, their undoubted attractiveness and appeal. The overt economic function of this appeal is to make us buy things. Its ideological function, however, is to involve us as 'individuals' in perpetuating the ideas which endorse the economic basis of our society. If it is economic conditions which make ideology necessary, it is ideology which makes those conditions seem necessary.

The author pulled no punches when she published this in 1978 and her arguments are even more compelling in the 21st-century. If society is to be changed, the environment protected and social justice extended, this vicious circle of "necessity" and ideas must be broken. Decoding Advertisements is an attempt to undo one link in the chain which we ourselves help to forge, in our acceptance not only of the images and values of advertising, but of the 'transparent' forms and structures in which they are embodied. Because it provides not an "answer," but a "set of tools" which we can use to alter our own perceptions of one of society's subtlest and most complex forms of propaganda this book will continue to sell and be used on courses for years to come.

Williamson, Judith: - Judith Williamson served as Director of the Napoleon Hill World Learning Center for eighteen years. She is the author or coauthor of several books, including The Path to Riches in Think and Grow Rich and Success Vitamins for a Positive Mind.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780714526157
ISBN 10	0714526150
Title	Decoding Advertisements
Author	Judith Williamson
Series	Open Forum S
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd
Year published	2000-10-24
Number of pages	180
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.