Socio-Cultural Approaches to Advertising

This module introduces a range of debates about the social and cultural status and impact of advertising.

From a sociological perspective it explores:

• Advertising in the nineteenth century
• The practices of contemporary advertising agencies
• Advertising controversies
• Advertising regulation
• Methods of textual analysis for advertisements
• Gender and advertising
• Challenges to advertising and the subversion of advertisements
• Sociological accounts of branding and ‘promotional culture’

Students on this module will gain a critical understanding of sociological and cultural perspectives on advertising, methods of analysing advertising, and the role of advertising and discourses of consumerism in shaping identities.