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Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel
Many advertisements these days make us feel as if we have an intimate, even passionate relationship with a product. But as Jean Kilbourne points out in this fascinating and shocking expose, the dreamlike promise of advertising always leaves us hungry for more. We can never be satisfied, because the products we love cannot love us back.
"When was the last time you felt this comfortable in a relationship?"; An ad for sneakers.
"You can love it without getting your heart broken."; An ad for a car.
"Until I find a real man, I'll settle for a real smoke."; A woman in a cigarette ad.
Drawing upon her knowledge of psychology, media, and women's issues, Kilbourne offers nothing less than a new understanding of a ubiquitous phenomenon in our culture. The average American is exposed to over 3,000 advertisements a day and watches three years' worth of television ads over the course of a lifetime. Kilbourne paints a gripping portrait of how this barrage of advertising drastically affects young people, especially girls, by offering false promises of rebellion, connection, and control. She also offers a surprising analysis of the way advertising creates and then feeds an addictive mentality that often continues throughout adulthood.
"When was the last time you felt this comfortable in a relationship?"; An ad for sneakers.
"You can love it without getting your heart broken."; An ad for a car.
"Until I find a real man, I'll settle for a real smoke."; A woman in a cigarette ad.
Drawing upon her knowledge of psychology, media, and women's issues, Kilbourne offers nothing less than a new understanding of a ubiquitous phenomenon in our culture. The average American is exposed to over 3,000 advertisements a day and watches three years' worth of television ads over the course of a lifetime. Kilbourne paints a gripping portrait of how this barrage of advertising drastically affects young people, especially girls, by offering false promises of rebellion, connection, and control. She also offers a surprising analysis of the way advertising creates and then feeds an addictive mentality that often continues throughout adulthood.
368 pages, Paperback
First published November 2, 2000
41 people are currently reading
2668 people want to read
About the author
Jean Kilbourne
11 books49 followersJean Kilbourne is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking work on the image of women in advertising and for her critical studies of alcohol and tobacco advertising. In the late 1960s she began her exploration of the connection between advertising and several public health issues, including violence against women, eating disorders, and addiction, and launched a movement to promote media literacy as a way to prevent these problems. A radical and original idea at the time, this approach is now mainstream and an integral part of most prevention programs. According to Susan Faludi, “Jean Kilbourne’s work is pioneering and crucial to the dialogue of one of the most underexplored, yet most powerful, realms of American culture -advertising. We owe her a great debt.” Mary Pipher has called Kilbourne “our best, most compassionate teacher.”
Her films, lectures and television appearances have been seen by millions of people throughout the world. Kilbourne was named by The New York Times Magazine as one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses. She is the creator of the renowned Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women film series and the author of the award-winning book Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel and So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids (with Diane E. Levin).
Her films, lectures and television appearances have been seen by millions of people throughout the world. Kilbourne was named by The New York Times Magazine as one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses. She is the creator of the renowned Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women film series and the author of the award-winning book Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel and So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids (with Diane E. Levin).
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August 22, 2010
Terrible. An egregious presentation of what is otherwise an interesting thesis. Kilbournes arguments are derived from weak inductive reasoning that devolve into gross conjectures. Her view of people as a passive, hapless, non-participatory audience is outdated and fails on many levels. Indeed, in her first chapter she says "It is virtually impossible to measure the influence of advertising on a culture..." which makes her whole point moot.
The majority of the book is collection of the most degrading tag lines that advertisers have used and her interpretation of them, most of which are taken out of context. For example, in Chapter 9 she analyzes a car advert:
"' The dream begins as soon as you open the door," says a car ad. Imagine if this were an ad for alcohol ("the dream begins as soon as you open the bottle") or cigarettes ("the dream begins as soon as you open the pack") or heroin ("the dream begins as soon as you put in the needle"). Perhaps we would understand what a dangerous message this is.'"
To her we are too stupid to analyze an advert for what it is and not take it literally. This kind of reasoning is akin to someone telling another that they objectify children because they said " I want to have a child of my own someday." Your OWN child? You cant OWN a child. They're not things to own like a car.
In chapter 4 she examines the relationship between cars and advertising, more specifically how we drive. She arbitrarily uses facts about automobile accidents to try to support her argument, yet fails to make the connection between the two. To her, we drive fast and aggressive because of that commercial we saw that had a zooming BMW. To an extent this makes sense, because like our monkey cousins we like to imitate what we see. But if you dig deeper, this also doesn't make sense because our species is wired to be risk adverse, with the exception of course of certain people with a low dopamine output system. A more plausible explanation is provided by a study on man vs. automobile accidents. There is a positive correlation between the rise in these kinds of accidents and the advent of seat belts. Its conclusion: we drive faster and more aggressive because we feel SAFER in our vehicles.
I was also throughly annoyed by her constantly reminding her readers that companies do psychological research, as if this was enough to prove her arguments. "They do psychological research! They do psychological research!" she screams. I remember reading an article in Newsweek several months ago on the efficacy of SSRIs, a class of antidepressant drugs and their efficacy. It concluded that these medications, which is widely prescribed, is about as effective as placebos. Pharmaceuticals spend billions in R and D. Obviously, simply doing "research" doesn't translate into anything. And this is what she fails to present: is the advertising effective?
Kilbourne also comes off as vindictive. An admitted addict she says in chapter 8: "I was thirteen years old, genetically for both nicotine and alcohol addiction and dangerously depressed. Was I responsible for my addiction? I don't think so. However, I certainly was responsible for quitting once I learned the truth." At what point does one become responsible for their own actions? I wondered why this book garnered an average of four stars, but with rhetoric that victimizes everyone... I guess its just easy to like something thats waving the flag of morality.
I find it ironic that a book decrying the methods of advertising companies used the same method to attract buyers. It was originally titled "Deadly Persuasion." Sounds like a James Patterson novel. Its then changed into "Cant Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes The Way We Think And Feel." More attention grabbing as it bears similarity to the Beatles song, and has the word LOVE in it which grabs the attention of her target audience, females.
This book just has so many things wrong with it, and too little thats right.
The majority of the book is collection of the most degrading tag lines that advertisers have used and her interpretation of them, most of which are taken out of context. For example, in Chapter 9 she analyzes a car advert:
"' The dream begins as soon as you open the door," says a car ad. Imagine if this were an ad for alcohol ("the dream begins as soon as you open the bottle") or cigarettes ("the dream begins as soon as you open the pack") or heroin ("the dream begins as soon as you put in the needle"). Perhaps we would understand what a dangerous message this is.'"
To her we are too stupid to analyze an advert for what it is and not take it literally. This kind of reasoning is akin to someone telling another that they objectify children because they said " I want to have a child of my own someday." Your OWN child? You cant OWN a child. They're not things to own like a car.
In chapter 4 she examines the relationship between cars and advertising, more specifically how we drive. She arbitrarily uses facts about automobile accidents to try to support her argument, yet fails to make the connection between the two. To her, we drive fast and aggressive because of that commercial we saw that had a zooming BMW. To an extent this makes sense, because like our monkey cousins we like to imitate what we see. But if you dig deeper, this also doesn't make sense because our species is wired to be risk adverse, with the exception of course of certain people with a low dopamine output system. A more plausible explanation is provided by a study on man vs. automobile accidents. There is a positive correlation between the rise in these kinds of accidents and the advent of seat belts. Its conclusion: we drive faster and more aggressive because we feel SAFER in our vehicles.
I was also throughly annoyed by her constantly reminding her readers that companies do psychological research, as if this was enough to prove her arguments. "They do psychological research! They do psychological research!" she screams. I remember reading an article in Newsweek several months ago on the efficacy of SSRIs, a class of antidepressant drugs and their efficacy. It concluded that these medications, which is widely prescribed, is about as effective as placebos. Pharmaceuticals spend billions in R and D. Obviously, simply doing "research" doesn't translate into anything. And this is what she fails to present: is the advertising effective?
Kilbourne also comes off as vindictive. An admitted addict she says in chapter 8: "I was thirteen years old, genetically for both nicotine and alcohol addiction and dangerously depressed. Was I responsible for my addiction? I don't think so. However, I certainly was responsible for quitting once I learned the truth." At what point does one become responsible for their own actions? I wondered why this book garnered an average of four stars, but with rhetoric that victimizes everyone... I guess its just easy to like something thats waving the flag of morality.
I find it ironic that a book decrying the methods of advertising companies used the same method to attract buyers. It was originally titled "Deadly Persuasion." Sounds like a James Patterson novel. Its then changed into "Cant Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes The Way We Think And Feel." More attention grabbing as it bears similarity to the Beatles song, and has the word LOVE in it which grabs the attention of her target audience, females.
This book just has so many things wrong with it, and too little thats right.
December 14, 2010
We can’t set foot out of the house without exposure to advertising, even if we don’t watch TV, use the Internet, or read fashion magazines. Advertising is everywhere, from billboards and posters to clothing to shop windows. It is an inconvenient truth that we are indeed affected by advertising and commercialism, even if we don’t believe it.
This book is as much a psychology book as a sociology book. Using examples, statistics, interviews, and her own life experience, Kilbourne covers the connections between advertising and addiction. Ads talk directly to addicts in an attempt to make the addiction look like normal and accepted behavior. She addresses how we reach for material things in a futile attempt to find comfort. In an over-consumerist society that is destroying the planet, advertising encourages us to consume more and more and to replace interconnectedness, relations, and communication with material things. A car doesn’t argue with you, so it’s easier to buy a car than to communicate with people.
Can’t Buy My Love is a very important book for all Americans to read, so that they will be able to see advertising with a critical and conscious eye and not be fooled. It will also enable Americans to protect their children from the conditioning that advertisers, including those of the tobacco and alcohol industries, consciously attempt.
This book is as much a psychology book as a sociology book. Using examples, statistics, interviews, and her own life experience, Kilbourne covers the connections between advertising and addiction. Ads talk directly to addicts in an attempt to make the addiction look like normal and accepted behavior. She addresses how we reach for material things in a futile attempt to find comfort. In an over-consumerist society that is destroying the planet, advertising encourages us to consume more and more and to replace interconnectedness, relations, and communication with material things. A car doesn’t argue with you, so it’s easier to buy a car than to communicate with people.
Can’t Buy My Love is a very important book for all Americans to read, so that they will be able to see advertising with a critical and conscious eye and not be fooled. It will also enable Americans to protect their children from the conditioning that advertisers, including those of the tobacco and alcohol industries, consciously attempt.
July 1, 2009
Books about advertising and media are always interesting, and this one hits some interesting topics, like the need of corporations for addicts, and the depressing consistency of sexual images in advertising. Also notable is the author's concern about consumer culture and the attraction of being "rebelliously" part of the pack. It would be interesting to discuss this book in light of the increased level of advertising we're exposed to with our increased use of the internet and "free" content. She also touches on how much we want to insist that we are not affected by advertising, and how this false insistance serves the industry. Only 10 years old, but getting a little dated with references to those popular late-90s damaged girls studies and an introduction by Mary Pipher.
September 11, 2014
The examples are getting out of date, but the ideas are more relevant than ever. Thoroughly changed the way I experience advertising.
December 31, 2020
This book is simply born out of a busybody's thirst for power over the lives of others. And like the criticized content, any fallacy is good to make converts.
May 20, 2013
I thought I understood the tricks of advertising, but Jean Kilbourne gave me a lot more to think about! She offers a balanced argument (with a dash of feminist theory) and lots of examples of how ads:
Make products seem like they're our friends, even lovers
Encourage children to drink and smoke at a young age so they become heavy users later on in life
Normalize the objectification of women--even very young girls
Advertising doesn't cause violence, racism, sexism, ageism, and addiction, but the cumulative messages have an effect on everyone in our society, whether or not we're aware of it. This is a very important book for everyone to read, even if you think you're media savvy already.
Make products seem like they're our friends, even lovers
Encourage children to drink and smoke at a young age so they become heavy users later on in life
Normalize the objectification of women--even very young girls
Advertising doesn't cause violence, racism, sexism, ageism, and addiction, but the cumulative messages have an effect on everyone in our society, whether or not we're aware of it. This is a very important book for everyone to read, even if you think you're media savvy already.
March 10, 2022
Everything is marketing and marketing works. This book was written in 1999 and the most depressing thing about it is that things have gotten much, much worse. The final chapter really brings it all together, making the argument that a focus on individual behavior is not the answer, that we need a systemic approach to the problems we face. But it is exactly that, a systemic approach, that advertisers, corporations, and media conglomerates cannot allow. Because they need us disconnected, unorganized, and focused on ourselves alone in order to sell us on rampant consumerism. They want us to believe that their product is the solution to all that ails us. That consuming correctly will lead us to the promised land, and we have to go alone.
January 18, 2020
Even though this book is now 20 years old, Kilbourne's analysis of advertising is exceptional. She does an amazing job of connecting the dots between the images we are being sold, the voids they are supposed to fill, and what would truly make us feel connected and seen.
March 1, 2023
I've been reading about propaganda and the intentional manipulation of the public mind for a while now, but this book still had the power to stop me in my tracks. Kilbourne is a feminist writer with a very specific point of view, quite different from my own. She taught me so much.
I especially love the way that Kilbourne was able to convey how advertising wears us down and influences our perceptions and values completely unconsciously. She meticulously lays out her argument with a truly stunning array of examples. I am convinced!
Kilbourne discusses her own struggles with addiction, then uses her personal experiences to just nail the way advertisers try to normalize unhealthy and dangerous behaviors to sell products. I was particularly impressed with her analysis of the ways junk food, alcohol, and diet marketing use human psychology to prey on our weaknesses.
The real stunner is the insidious way that advertising manufactures unhappiness and then presents the merchandise it is selling as the answer to all of our problems. Yet buying things never provides happiness, just a transient feeling of relief. It's an endless hamster wheel and our entire culture is built on continuously hammering this message, playing us for suckers. It's a knife in the heart, but I thank Jean Kilbourne for ramming it home.
I especially love the way that Kilbourne was able to convey how advertising wears us down and influences our perceptions and values completely unconsciously. She meticulously lays out her argument with a truly stunning array of examples. I am convinced!
Kilbourne discusses her own struggles with addiction, then uses her personal experiences to just nail the way advertisers try to normalize unhealthy and dangerous behaviors to sell products. I was particularly impressed with her analysis of the ways junk food, alcohol, and diet marketing use human psychology to prey on our weaknesses.
The real stunner is the insidious way that advertising manufactures unhappiness and then presents the merchandise it is selling as the answer to all of our problems. Yet buying things never provides happiness, just a transient feeling of relief. It's an endless hamster wheel and our entire culture is built on continuously hammering this message, playing us for suckers. It's a knife in the heart, but I thank Jean Kilbourne for ramming it home.
October 18, 2021
I almost gave it 3 stars because it felt like just another media/advertisement critic book until I read the last chapter. I love a book that gives me solutions after hard truths. The solutions were not simple either ( which I liked because these problems are complex and require complex solutions).
When it comes to informative books, I don't care much about the writing style so no comment there but the last paragraph was so great.
When it comes to informative books, I don't care much about the writing style so no comment there but the last paragraph was so great.
August 1, 2011
I had to take my time with this book, as it is a bit preachy (read 'a lot preachy'). While I don't want to completely blame all advertising for degrading the way 'young girls-then-women' view themselves negatively, Kilbourne does make several good points. However, those points tended to get bogged down by the author's long diatribes. I also disliked the way she took all responsibility away from the individual, as if they have no choice but to become addicted to cigarettes, have a negative self image or the like, and placed it instead on those who created the ads and therefore perpetuated the problems.
August 21, 2011
Can’t Buy My love was a great learning experience for me. I had never truly analyzed how advertisements affect many people in the world. Also I never noticed how advertisements are made specifically to influence people to buy the product. I enjoyed reading this book because it showed me how advertisements do not have trusted information, they are just trying to influence people to buy a certain product. Most of the time people are influenced to purchase products that could be harmful to them in the future. Overall this book has given me great evidence to know that advertisements should not be trusted because they mostly influence people to make bad decisions in life.
July 16, 2017
We are conditioned to believe that magical products can make our lives "awesome". Be free, join the revolution...become a loyal costumer, an informed consumer or in simpler terms feed your addiction. Afterall, it is democracy at its finest and good for the bottom line.
Isn't a shame that the United States is one of the few developed nations that doesn't invest in the media literacy of its citizens? I think so. I am not being overdramatic. Advertising isn't the source of all evil but it falsely promises us that magical products can deliver only what healthy interpersonal relationships can and that's not only misleading but unethical.
Isn't a shame that the United States is one of the few developed nations that doesn't invest in the media literacy of its citizens? I think so. I am not being overdramatic. Advertising isn't the source of all evil but it falsely promises us that magical products can deliver only what healthy interpersonal relationships can and that's not only misleading but unethical.
September 7, 2007
i enjoyed this book best as a historical overview of advertisements hailing women from the 1960s to present-day, which is not at all what this book is meant to be. kilbourne's larger analyses of the consequences of advertisements on women come off as hypodermic needle/passive audience media theory that is both alarmist and outdated.
May 19, 2012
One of my all-time favorites. I was introduced to Kilbourne on her college tour. She visited my school when I was an undergrad and I was lucky enough to have already studied her book in a women's studies class. I gift this book to ANY teenage girl in my life, and recommend it to all women, especially mothers! A MUST-READ!
August 7, 2025
Trong kỷ nguyên số, khi thông tin tràn ngập và sự chú ý của người tiêu dùng ngày càng phân mảnh, việc tìm kiếm những phương thức quảng cáo tạo ấn tượng mạnh mẽ, khó quên trở thành chìa khóa thành công cho mọi doanh nghiệp. Giữa vô vàn lựa chọn, Roadshow nổi lên như một chiến lược đầy tính đột phá, đưa hình ảnh và câu chuyện của doanh nghiệp đến tận mắt, tận tai công chúng. Tuy nhiên, Roadshow không phải là một hình thức đơn nhất; nó là một “vũ trụ” đa dạng với nhiều loại hình, mỗi loại sở hữu những ưu nhược điểm và ứng dụng riêng biệt, phù hợp với từng mục tiêu và ngân sách cụ thể.
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Phoenix Media Group sẽ cùng bạn khám phá các loại hình Roadshow phổ biến nhất tại Việt Nam, từ những đoàn Roadshow đi bộ thân thiện đến những màn hình LED di động hiện đại, giúp bạn có cái nhìn sâu sắc để lựa chọn giải pháp tối ưu nhất cho chiến dịch của mình. Tìm hiểu thêm tại đây: https://quangcaophoenix.com/cac-loai-hinh-roadshow-pho-bien-uu-nhuoc-diem-va-ung-dung-thuc-te/
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September 19, 2019
Very insightful! This book was written 20 years ago and yet it is still relevant. Sadly not much has changed over these 20 years with how advertising is used, except now its in our pockets. I would love to read a book by Kilbourne that addresses the affects of social media and advertising. This is well worth a read.
May 23, 2022
4.5 stars
This book was an excellent look at advertisement.
I liked this book because it was factual and it is shocking because this was written in the 90s so I'm sure the stats are even more egregious.
Got lots of great quotes. I feel like this scratched my sociological itch I've been having about the world we live in.
This book was an excellent look at advertisement.
I liked this book because it was factual and it is shocking because this was written in the 90s so I'm sure the stats are even more egregious.
Got lots of great quotes. I feel like this scratched my sociological itch I've been having about the world we live in.
January 25, 2024
Do you think advertising doesn't affect you? In Can't Buy my love Jean Kilbourne explains that this is exactly what advertisers want you to think. Weaving stories from her own life amongst an abbreviated history of the last 70 years in advertising and numerous photos of advertisement Kilbourne makes a compelling case for the negative impact advertising is having on our society.
March 8, 2024
This is a required book for one of my classes and it’s okay. Very opinionated. I understand what she says and she has a lot of good points, but they are very repetitive, and most of her proof is old advertisements from like the early 2000s and before that going into the 50s. We need an updated version of how modern ads are.
September 4, 2025
Pretty cool book. I appreciate seeing the older ads (my edition was from 1999). Some things hardly change but it’s nice to see how society has responded/ways to better ourselves. Some things are out of pocket now (just a warning). Overall- really liked it. I think the last chapter could have been longer/more through as some parts I found it seemed more rushed than the others.
June 23, 2017
Some of the book isn't as relevant anymore (the smoking advertising industry has taken a huge, positive hit since it was written), but much is haunting because of how much MORE it is true now. Great primer for someone wanting to be aware of advertising's effects or teach someone else about it.
February 24, 2024
How desperately I wish I had read this book when it first came out. I just know it would have changed my life. Succinct and revelatory, you will be better off having read this book.
May 2, 2024
This is how adverts promote addictive judgements as normality and put people in vulnerability; females in particular.
Concise and interesting, easy to read.
Concise and interesting, easy to read.
October 11, 2025
It’s a good thing to think about- the book is very repetitive.
August 16, 2012
Outstanding and necessary book though a bit dated. A lot has changed in regards to advertising and technology since this book came out in 1999-2000 (references to Cindy Crawford for example) and obviously the rise of social media and pay per click ads are a huge shift in how marketing reaches their audiences and therefore affect us. However the meat and potatoes of what Jean Kilbourne talks about hasn't changed and that is the level of exploitation advertising does to people, especially women and girls. I felt like these parts of the books were very eye opening even for somebody like me who reads a lot about branding, sales and marketing (and women's issues).
The book hones in on controversial topics like sex (relationships), drugs (alcohol specifically is targeted--Kilbourne is a recovering alcoholic), and cigarettes in regards to self image and addiction in general.
Here are some quotes from the book that will give you a glimpse into what Jean discusses:
"Advertising sells more than products. It sells love, sexuality, values even what is supposed to be "normal". It tells us who we are and who we should be. We use brands to create our identities."
"In the old days girls got pregnant. These days they get fat--and are more scorned, shamed and despised than ever before. Prejudice against fat people, especially against fat women, is one of the few remaining prejudices that is socially acceptable"
"The culture, both reflected and reinforced by advertising, urges girls to adopt a false sense of self, to bury alive their real selves, to become feminine which means nice and kind and sweet, to compete with other girls for the attention of boys, and to value romantic relationships with boys above all else. Girls are put into a terrible double bind. They are supposed to repress their power, their anger, their exuberance and be simply nice although they also must eventually compete with men in the business world and be successful. They must be overly sexy and attractive yet passive and virginal"
The book hones in on controversial topics like sex (relationships), drugs (alcohol specifically is targeted--Kilbourne is a recovering alcoholic), and cigarettes in regards to self image and addiction in general.
Here are some quotes from the book that will give you a glimpse into what Jean discusses:
"Advertising sells more than products. It sells love, sexuality, values even what is supposed to be "normal". It tells us who we are and who we should be. We use brands to create our identities."
"In the old days girls got pregnant. These days they get fat--and are more scorned, shamed and despised than ever before. Prejudice against fat people, especially against fat women, is one of the few remaining prejudices that is socially acceptable"
"The culture, both reflected and reinforced by advertising, urges girls to adopt a false sense of self, to bury alive their real selves, to become feminine which means nice and kind and sweet, to compete with other girls for the attention of boys, and to value romantic relationships with boys above all else. Girls are put into a terrible double bind. They are supposed to repress their power, their anger, their exuberance and be simply nice although they also must eventually compete with men in the business world and be successful. They must be overly sexy and attractive yet passive and virginal"
May 14, 2011
I have 30 page markers in this book so I m not really sure where to start- how about with Jean Kilbourne s losing her sense of humor under the barrage of inappropriate ads for booze, cigarettes, junk food and cars?[return][return]Her premise is that advertisers deliberately make us slightly unhappy with out bodies, appearance and our lives and then offer up a product that they say will solve the problem but in the end only makes it worse. She certainly has a point. America does have a culture of excess where there is never enough. And this leads to pathology. I couldn t agree more with her admonition to make sure our children are media literate.[return][return]Provocative quotes;[return][return] women live in a state of subliminal terror, a state that according to Mary Daly, keeps us divided both from each other and from our most passionate, powerful, and creative selves. [return][return]And;[return][return] Jackson Katz, who writes and lectures on male violence, often begins his workshops by asking men to describe the things they do every day to protect themselves from sexual assault. The men are surprised, puzzled, sometimes amused by the question. The women understand the question easily and have no trouble at all coming up with a list of responses. [return][return]Kilbourne gives voice to all my vague unease from the overly sexual music videos and too violent movies. These things have become main-stream and accepted, her word is normalized mine would be inured. Adopting these inappropriate values causes women to be objectified, men to be unable to express themselves, and can lead to addiction.[return][return]I don t believe the true root of the problem is advertisers- they re in business to make money just like everybody else. The true root of them problem is worshipping the almighty dollar above everything else.
March 25, 2008
I really that in this book, Kilbourne was able to accurately describe and define the contradictions and hyprocritical messages found in advertising of the past and present. She was able to tie things together that many people have discussed and complained about, in a cutting critical analysis.
The book is very indepth and the chapter on cars specifically was quite informative. I think that OVERALL, addiction was oversimplified as one of the leading causes of our current condition, perhaps based on her history of addiction, when I think that the more convincing argument was political/autonomous one; where people believe they need to operate alone, or feel they will only operate alone, and rather than work with others to achieve goals, use products as people instead.
Her call to arms at the end of the book is rather charged and despite the depressing content, especially in the later chapters, it really makes it seem that we can try to circumvent the negative implications of advertising. All it takes is being CONSCIOUS of the constant attempts, and rather than ignoring the ads, being critical and seeing what the real message is beneath the celebrity-studded exterior.
The book is very indepth and the chapter on cars specifically was quite informative. I think that OVERALL, addiction was oversimplified as one of the leading causes of our current condition, perhaps based on her history of addiction, when I think that the more convincing argument was political/autonomous one; where people believe they need to operate alone, or feel they will only operate alone, and rather than work with others to achieve goals, use products as people instead.
Her call to arms at the end of the book is rather charged and despite the depressing content, especially in the later chapters, it really makes it seem that we can try to circumvent the negative implications of advertising. All it takes is being CONSCIOUS of the constant attempts, and rather than ignoring the ads, being critical and seeing what the real message is beneath the celebrity-studded exterior.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2007
This is the most important critical examination of advertising I have read. I'm especially interested in her discussion of gender representations in advertising. If you've ever heard or made the argument that media and advertising representations are harmless and silly, she will convince you that these representations are actually powerful in our culture.
I think it is interesting that advertising images are so overtly sexualized, but the corporations are selling their product--not intimacy. And advertisers are constantly giving us the message that we shouldn't be satisfied with whatever we have now. If these issues interest you, you'll love this book. Kilbourne writes with intelligence, humor, and irony.
"She explores the relationship of media images to actual problems in the society, such as violence, the sexual abuse of children, rape and sexual harassment, pornography and censorship, teenage pregnancy, addiction, and eating disorders." - From Jean Kilbourne's website
I think it is interesting that advertising images are so overtly sexualized, but the corporations are selling their product--not intimacy. And advertisers are constantly giving us the message that we shouldn't be satisfied with whatever we have now. If these issues interest you, you'll love this book. Kilbourne writes with intelligence, humor, and irony.
"She explores the relationship of media images to actual problems in the society, such as violence, the sexual abuse of children, rape and sexual harassment, pornography and censorship, teenage pregnancy, addiction, and eating disorders." - From Jean Kilbourne's website
June 4, 2013
It's one thing to know that all advertisements always have subliminal messages to target their intended audience in many ways, but I found myself looking at all advertisements differently after reading this. It's not just the subtle and not so subtle messages in ads that affect the way we buy, the way we shop, and what we want, but it's everything--from what's printed in beauty magazines to television shows to movies. Advertising is absolutely everywhere we look. It's in our faces all the time without us even realizing it; affecting the way we look at each other and more importantly, the way we look at ourselves even if we don't realize it's happening. Even worse, it's the way ads are created to get us to buy their products--as if by buying crap we don't need will somehow fill voids in our life to make us feel complete. You'll never look at a commercial or ad the same way again after reading this.
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