Advertising, Culture and the Law: Beyond Lies, Ignorance and Manipulation

Advertising plays a central role in consumer capitalism, and many students of contemporary society have focused on it in their critiques of consumer culture. Yet little of this literature has influenced legal theories and structures concerning the power of advertising. Advertising, Culture and the Law critically explores legal concepts of the power of advertising in the light of these recent developments in cultural theory. Rejecting traditional concepts of the power of advertising, the author provides an alternative vision of the potential role of law in the regulation of advertising texts and images. * Examines the contribution of cultural studies, including feminist analysis, to the development of a cultural theory of advertising power * Analyses central aspects of advertising law such as commercial speech, images of women and minorities, and advertising to children * Assesses the distinction between the reasonable and credulous consumer in misleading advertising.