James Twitchell takes an in-depth look at the ads and ad campaigns—and their creators—that have most influenced our culture and marketplace in the twentieth century. P. T. Barnum’s creation of buzz, Pepsodent and the magic of the preemptive claim, Listerine introducing America to the scourge of halitosis, Nike’s “Just Do It,” Clairol’s “Does She or Doesn’t She?,” Leo Burnett’s invention of the Marlboro Man, Revlon’s Charlie Girl, Coke’s re-creation of Santa Claus, Absolut and the art world—these campaigns are the signposts of a century of consumerism, our modern canon understood, accepted, beloved, and hated the world over.
Adland is a ground-breaking examination of modern advertising, from its early origins, to the evolution of the current advertising landscape. Bestselling author and journalist Mark Tungate examines key developments in advertising, from copy adverts, radio and television, to the opportunities afforded by the explosion of digital media - podcasting, text messaging and interactive campaigns. Adland focuses on key players in the industry and features exclusive interviews with leading names in advertising today, including Jean-Marie Dru, Sir Alan Parker, John Hegarty and Sir Martin Sorrell, as well as industry luminaries from the 20th Century such as Phil Dusenberry and George Lois. Exploring the roots of the advertising industry in New York and London, and going on to cover the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, Adland offers a comprehensive examination of a global industry and suggests ways in which it is likely to develop in the future.
"If you ask men if they spend any time hiding, they usually look at you as if you're nuts. 'What, me hide?' But if you ask women whether men hide, they immediately know what you mean."—from Where Men Hide Where Men Hide is a spirited tour of the dark and often dirty places men go to find comfort, camaraderie, relaxation, and escape. Ken Ross's striking photographs and James Twitchell's lively analysis trace the evolution of these virtual caves, and question why they are rapidly disappearing. Ross documents both traditional and contemporary male haunts, such as bars, barbershops, lodges, pool halls, strip clubs, garages, deer camps, megachurches, the basement Barcalounger, and Twitchell examines their provenance, purpose, and appeal. He finds that for centuries men have met with each other in underground lairs and clubhouses to conduct business or, in the case of strip clubs and the modern rec room, to bond and indulge in shady entertainments. In these secret dens, certain rules are abandoned while others are obeyed. However, Twitchell sees this less as exclusionary behavior and more as the result of social anxiety: when women want to get together, they just do it; when men get together, it's a production. Drawing on literary, historical, and pop cultural sources, Twitchell connects the places men hide with figures like Hemingway and Huck Finn, Frederick Jackson Turner's theory of the American frontier, and the mythological interpretations of Joseph Campbell and Robert Bly. Instead of blaming the disappearance of the man-cave solely on feminism, simple fair play, or the demands of Title IX, Twitchell believes this evaporation is due as well to the rise of solitary pursuits such as driving, watching television, and playing videogames. By blending together anecdote, research, and keen observation, Ross and Twitchell bring this little-discussed and controversial phenomenon to light.
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.)
Americans spoon it out of the jar, eat it in sandwiches by itself or with its bread-fellow jelly, and devour it with foods ranging from celery and raisins ("ants on a log") to a grilled sandwich with bacon and bananas (the classic "Elvis"). Peanut butter is used to flavor candy, ice cream, cookies, cereal, and a wide variety of other foods. It is a deeply ingrained staple of American childhood and cuisine. Creamy and Crunchy features the stories of Jif, Skippy, and Peter Pan; the resurgence of natural or old-fashioned peanut butter; the five ways today's product is different from the original; the plight of black peanut farmers; the role of peanut butter in fighting Third-World hunger; and the Salmonella outbreaks of 2007 and 2009. The story of peanut butter is the story of twentieth-century America, and Jon Krampner writes its first popular history, rich with anecdotes and facts culled from interviews, research, travels in the peanut-growing regions of the South, and recipes.
The brief war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008 seemed to many like an unexpected shot out of the blue that was gone as quickly as it came. Former Assistant Deputy Secretary of State Ronald Asmus contends that it was a conflict that was prepared and planned for some time by Moscow, part of a broader strategy to send a message to the United States: that Russia is going to flex its muscle in the twenty-first century. A Little War that Changed the World is a fascinating look at the breakdown of relations between Russia and the West, the decay and decline of the Western Alliance itself, and the fate of Eastern Europe in a time of economic crisis.
