If you're the slightest bit cynical about modern advertising, my current read is for you. Ad Nauseam: A survivor's guide to American consumer culture by Carrie McLaren and Jason Torchinsky has to be the most interesting collection of information about advertising I've ever seen.
We all know that sex sells and violence grabs our attention, but marketing is much more complex than just that. My grandma is always complaining about TV commercials these days because they seem to be completely irrelevant to the product they are advertising. But with TiVo and DVR, it's essential for advertisers to spend most of their efforts in grabbing our attention. Telling us what they're selling is secondary. Even if companies want to spend their time informing us of the product, they have to yell and rave (eg. Menards, OxyClean, etc.). Some cable companies (coughMediacomcough) are even boosting the volume of commercials, just to grab the attention of the ever-evolving viewer before he scrambles for the mute button.
So while Baby Einstein lowers vocabulary skills, SUVs spend most of their time in mall parking lots, and ionizing air purifiers emit ozone, the writers of this book attempt to help me survive this "slow creeping brain death".
Perhaps I should keep reading.
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