Book excerpt: "A readable and absorbing account of what advertising people try to achieve (whether or not they know quite how or why), grounded in Chris Hackley's real and recent acquaintance with the practicalities of advertising, as well as its principles.... He minimises the inevitable jargon of linguistics and communication theory. His own language is always accurate and clear, and often engaging. The well managed flow from chapter to chapter sustains interest and enjoyment. I read the book from cover to cover in one sitting." - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING "Professor Hackley's book provides a timely reminder to student and practitioner alike that advertising continues to play a key role in the successful planning and implementation of marketing communications. Underpinned by a series of topical and often thought-provoking illustrations, this work not only explains how advertising is developed, but also presents the discipline in the wider context of socio-cultural and linguistic research. Working from a practical advertising management basis, the text raises some key issues for advertising as focus for academic and intellectual study." - Chris Blackburn, The Business School, Oxford Brookes University, formerly Account Director at Foote, Cone & Belding, Leagas Delaney and Boase Massimi Pollitt "Dr Hackley has an uncommon approach to advertising. His book combines the abstract theory of advertising and its effects with a hard-nosed practical approach. It is a guide to understanding and appreciating advertising and a way to understand how and why advertising works or why it does not. I think that this book is a fine text for students. Even more, it deserves to be read by advertising practitioners." - Arthur J. Kover, former editor of the Journal of Advertising Research, Management Fellow at the Yale School of Management Advertising and Promotion is not only a detailed and insightful account of how advertising is created; the book also explains how advertising comes to cast its all-enveloping shadow over contemporary consumer culture. Many case examples drawn from major international campaigns are used to illustrate the power of advertising to portray brand `personalities' in terms that resonate with consumers across many cultures. It contains detailed coverage of the major areas of advertising and marketing communications but it is not a simplistic treatment. Advertising and Promotion takes a novel intellectual approach and draws on concepts from the wider humanities and social sciences to cast fresh light on an over-familiar subject matter. It uniquely combines detailed case information, current research and lively topical issues to offer an authoritative and comprehensive account of advertising's pre-eminent role in contemporary marketing communications. It is an advanced student text, a reflective practitioner's handbook and an insightful account for the general reader.