Why It Sells: Decoding the Meanings of Brand Names, Logos, Ads, and Other Marketing and Advertising Ploys

by Marcel Danesi

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.

Genres: Nonfiction

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Marcel Danesi (b. Marcello Danesi, 1946) is a current Professor of Semiotics and Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Toronto. He is known for his work in language, communications, and semiotics; being Director of the Program in Semiotics and Communication Theory.

He has also held positions at Rutgers University (1972), The University of Rome "La Sapienza" (1988), the Catholic University of Milan (1990), and the University of Lugano.

He is the Editor-in-Chief of Semiotica: Journal of the International Association for Semiotic Studies and is a past-president of the Semiotic Society of America.

Reviews

[Tissuereligion · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was interesting, but I feel like a lot of it could just be boiled down to

1. Advertisers design their ads to appeal to various types of human desires. While the goal of all advertisers is of course to get people to buy their product, the desire of the advertisee that you choose to tap into (or set of desires in various ways) is an important way of classifying ads and their effects on people:

a) overt
b) subtle (sex, power, dominance, submissiveness, etc.)
c) rational (I need to reach tall places, so I should buy a ladder.)
d) emotional (imagining that the product will have a direct effect on personal happiness and social status and success because of its brand recognition and popularity, personifying the product)

He also had an interesting section at the end on hypotheses as to the effects of advertising and consumerism on mass society. I feel like I felt the book with a greater appreciation for the integral role of marketing and advertising in making the world go round. Sufficient, but not necessary.

The author's writing is relentlesssssssly academic. It wasn't a bad book, but it was verrrrrry dry, especially for having such a colorful cover with a picture on the front.