Advertising, Values and Social Change

This book provides a snapshot of the major social, cultural and economic changes that have taken place in the contemporary consumer society following the global financial crisis of 2008. It discusses brands, consumption patterns and advertising, and highlights their symbolic component. Markets are conversations, as the Cluetrain Manifesto pointed out as early as 2000, and this is all the more so today in our increasingly digitalized society. Advertising, therefore, needs to attune products to the most interesting conversations, those that are consistent with the new sensibility of the individual, identifying the languages which reflect most closely the new values and which are most useful for effective storytelling. The analysis here focuses on Italian advertising, but the language categories described are in tune with the new Zeitgeist, which, faced with the challenge of climate change and the crisis of unlimited economic growth, demands a more informed and responsible approach to consumption globally. The book is, therefore, useful for those working in corporate communication, advertising agencies, universities and Italian cultural organizations.