Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel Paperback – November 2, 2000

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It is very research-heavy and includes many examples of advertising taglines and campaigns and a good deal of black and white advertisement examples inserted on the pages. The author, while knowing much about her subject and putting much effort into her research, isn't the best of writers. For example, adjectives weren't very varied and with the exception of some especially profound statements, someone that hadn't made writing a part of their career could've easily written in the same way. Perhaps I didn't look closely enough, but by ordering this book I was hoping for a fairly neutral analyzing of the way advertising does indeed change how we think and feel but I must have mistook the title as being somehow admirable and interested about the power of advertising rather than against the power of advertising. This book, while not definitively arguing for a society without advertising, ends up urging for a future world in which advertising is massively censored and regulated which personally, I don't particularly agree with. It certainly feels throughout the book the author is painting the corporations and their marketing campaigns as inherently evil. Politically, I have grown up moderately conservative and capitalist-minded (I'm 17), so while reading this book I was rather skeptical about how the author seemed to depict the corporations but I must admit that I have become more mindful of their efforts, less willfully "drawn-into" advertising after reading this book, although I still by no means think capitalism is evil. (Of course, the author does not explicitly say that capitalism itself is at the root of the problem, but she does posit that capitalism without a good deal of government regulation is at the root of many of our problems). Indeed, this is a somewhat biased book skewing more towards liberalism and accusing the free market rather than venerating it as one would likely do if they were conservatively-minded. That said, many of the claims the author presents are undoubtfully true. For example, the claim that advertisers want addicts to stay addicted (whether it be drugs, alcohol, food, shopping etc.) is obviously good for their profits and it goes without saying that advertisers are aware of this and mindful of it in their campaigns. Despite being a little annoyed with the biased, quick-to-attack nature of this book I realized by the end that some of it was really true and backed by facts and I became a great deal more aware of how the advertising climate encourages us to perpetuate sometimes unhealthy behaviors and become detrimentally attached to products, among other things. I applaud people like Jean Kilbourne for bringing some of these things to light, because we know advertising is persuasive but we often think of it as too fleeting to make that big of an impact, we recognize it can be cheeky and humorous at times, but we forget what it might be entrenching in us. If you choose to read this book, try not to become fearful of advertising, but simply more skeptical and aware of it in your daily life. In addition, I thought to mention that some of the topics in this book are a little outdated, predictably enough, it was written in 2000. For example, there is a lot of mention of cigarette addiction but, as we know, in 2016 smoking is neither popular nor that cool anymore. And anyway, advertising has changed a lot since then, especially in the digital realm.

This book suffers from the authors bias. And It may be fine if I felt she was correct in her thoughts. But I disagree with how she views the ads. Because of her bias, the book suffers. She reads way more into the ads than I think anyone else would and she has spoken with none of the advertising agencies to find out what concept they were going for. So we must accept her point of view. For example, there is an ad with a woman showing a LITTLE bit of cleavage, but the author says her breast are almost completely exposed? She mentions a man is threatening a woman when all we actually see is a hand holding a pack of smokes and a cigarette. Again, i was really fed up with this author and he unrealistic bias halfway through the book. I'm only going to finish it because it is required for a class I'm going to take. The book does hit the mark on some ads, and she does cover the tobacco industry's lies. I now understand how generations of smokers were suckered into smoking.

If not required, I'd pass on this book. The authors unfounded bias ruins the book.

Kilbourne writes about the psychology of mass marketing, which is something she detests and refuses to let go of. Her remarks are often cloyingly accurate--that mass marketing turns people in addicts, disconnects people from genuine and authentic feeling, substitutes objects for people, turns people into objects, and values consumerism above community. Given that mass advertising is the water that we fishies swim in (nearly a zillion ads by the time we are ten years old), it's a pretty depressing and gives me a quasi-paranoid headache.
In contrast to another reviewer, however, I did not think Kilbourne was in the least bit funny. Angry--and she has enough to be angry about, every day, ranging from TV to magazines--but no, not funny.
Nevertheless, she writes very well and convincingly. This bitter pill gets 4*'s.

great

as advertised

Jean Kilbourne has a truly rare gift for finding purpose in and explicating insight into the thousands of ads that bombard us on a daily basis. It is fascinating to watch her meticulous, brilliant, even-handed exploration into the world of advertising. Her cogent remarks on the psychology of advertising bring a rare glimpse into previously unchartered waters. Having been a long-time fan of her films, it was also a distinct pleasure to read about her own personal and professional development in the first chapter as it was affected by the products advertisers insist we need to be fulfilled. Those interested in psychology, sociology, communication/cultural studies, and feminism should ensure this book is read and kept forefront on the bookshelf. It would be ideal as a college text as well.

Jean Kilbourne does an excellent job of taking you through the mindfield of advertising. I was shocked to learn that America is one of the few countries to allow advertising directed at kids and after reading this book, I know why it is outlawed in most places. Throughout this well developed and researched book, I found myself shocked and stunned -- and that's not easy to do to me.
Everyone should take a look at this book. The insidious nature of advertising is made apparent and if you think you aren't impacted by advertising then you truly should read this book. Fascinating and frightening.