Brands And Cultural Analysis

Description

This book, written in an accessible style with numerous illustrations and with drawings by the author, discusses what brands are and the role brands play in American society and consumer cultures, in general. The book uses a cultural studies approach and draws upon concepts and theories from semiotics, psychoanalytic theory, sociological theory, discourse theory, and other related fields. It also quotes from a number of important thinkers whose ideas offer insights into various aspects of brands. Brands has chapters on topics such as what brands are, their role in society, brands and the psyche, brands and history, language and brands, the marketing of brands, brands and logos, the branded self, San Francisco and Japan as brands, brand sacrality, multi-modal discourse analysis and brands, and competition among brands. Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Introduction: Thinking About Brands (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 3-7 What Is a Brand? A Semiotic Analysis (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 9-17 Brands and the Psyche (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 19-33 Brands in Society, Society in Brands (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 35-45 Marketing Brands (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 47-55 Brands in History and History in Brands (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 57-65 Language and Brands (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 67-74 Logos and Visual Signifiers (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 75-85 Front Matter ....Pages 87-87 The Branded Self (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 89-97 San Francisco as a Brand (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 99-105 Japan as a Brand (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 107-118 Ocean Cruise-Line Wars or Selling the Seas (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 119-126 Brand Sacrality (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 127-135 Brand Discourse (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 137-146 Mythology and Brands (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 147-153 Coda (Arthur Asa Berger)....Pages 155-161 Back Matter ....Pages 163-177