cover of Imaging in Advertising: Verbal and Visual Codes of Commerce

Imaging in Advertising

Verbal and Visual Codes of Commerce

By Fern L. Johnson

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About the Book

While scholarship on the visual elements of advertising has advanced our understanding of communication and media, the language elements - or 'verbal images' of the advertisement tend to be downplayed, providing a truncated analysis.

Imaging in Advertising explores how the verbal and visual work together to create a language of advertising that speaks to audiences and moves them to particular thoughts and actions. Through a series of case studies, Fern L. Johnson examines how the verbal and visual produce meaning - exploring advertisements for cigarettes, alcohol, and cosmetics - and argues that the verbal images in advertising are as important as the visual images, treating advertisements as a structured whole, rather than a series of fragments.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 1. Advertising Images and Discourse 2. Smoke and Mirrors 3. Keeping Race in Place 4. Different Tropes for Different Folks 5. Madison Avenue Meets Silicon Valley 6. From Barbie to BudTV Conclusions and Implications References Index

About the Author(s)

Fern L. Johnson is Professor of English and Co-Director of the Communication and Culture Program at Clark University. She is author of Speaking Culturally: Language Diversity in the United States.