Language and Literature - Language in Cultural Context: Advertising

Contains eighteen articles that provide opposing viewpoints on issues related to advertising, addressing questions of whether advertising is harmful, whether it exploits children, if political advertising be reformed, and what the future looks like for the industry.

Argues that the Internet has diminished consumer power through customer profiling that is being kept by large agencies instead of enhancing it by putting consumers in control of information.

Offers a detailed examination of the economic functions of advertisements, discussing how their attractiveness and appeal often mask dishonesty and exploitation meant to confuse consumers and push a company's private agenda.

Explores how competition in a capitalist, free-market society influences the ways in which commercial and political advertisers speak to individuals.