Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising 1st Edition

by Juliann Sivulka (Author)

33 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0534515935

ISBN-10: 9780534515935

Why is ISBN important?

Paperback

$5.67 - $49.95

Other Sellers

from

Other Sellers

See all 8 versions

Used: Good | Details

Sold by Hippo Books

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

FREE delivery April 12 - 15. Details

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Ships from and sold by Poverty Hill Books.

List Price: $99.95 Details

Save: $50.00 (50%)

$3.47 delivery April 13 - 19. Details

Or fastest delivery Friday, April 8. Order within 50 mins. Details

There is a newer edition of this item:

Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising
$56.30
(33)
In stock.

This book is an examination of how American advertising both mirrors society and creates it. From the first newspaper advertisement in colonial times to the latest Web sites for advertising agencies, Soap, Sex and Cigarettes explores how advertising grew in America, how products and brands were produced and promoted, and how advertisements and agencies reflect and introduce cultural trends and issues. The threads of art, industry, culture, and technology unify the work. The text is chronological in its organization and is lavishly illustrated with advertisements.

Juliann Sivulka
33
Paperback
23 offers from $53.14
Charles A. Goodrum
25
Hardcover
94 offers from $3.40

Product information

Technical Details

ASIN

‎0534515932

Publisher

‎Cengage Learning; 1st edition (March 20, 1997)

Language

‎English

Paperback

‎448 pages

ISBN-10

‎9780534515935

ISBN-13

‎978-0534515935

Item Weight

‎1.3 pounds

Dimensions

‎6.5 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches

Feedback

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Juliann Sivulka

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

5 star		63%
4 star		20%
3 star		9%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		8%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Nick W.

Great Book for All Aspiring Advertisers.

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2016

Verified Purchase

Fantastic read. Great for any young aspiring advertising or marketing students, or just those into early American pop culture (50's-60's). Sort of like the Mad Men's guide to Advertising.

Helpful

Suegsf

Not just for the classroom!

Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 1998

Verified Purchase

When I ordered this book, I thought it might be just another text book, however, Ms. Sivulka is a skillful writer worth reading at any level. Her subject matter is interesting, obviously carefully selected and well-coordinated. The illustrations are entertaining and pertinent. It's a fun read with lots of know-how apparent.

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

C. Hulse

Very interesting!

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2014

Verified Purchase

A very interesting read and an entertaining way to learn about the history of product marketing and advertising.

Helpful

Boyan Durankev

The book is interesting and intelligently designed.

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2012

Verified Purchase

The book is interesting and intelligently designed. History of advertising is illustrated with very nice and beautiful illustrations that bring us back to her "romantic" era. In this era advertising was not only a means to generate profits, and valued art.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Cloris

good quality overall

Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2014

Verified Purchase

Acceptable notes, good quality overall.

Helpful

michele

A good product design read

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2014

Verified Purchase

This came without marks. A good product design read.

Helpful

Chess Heart

Great reference, name is a bit of a misnomer, though...

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2001

Advertising has been around since the dawn of civilization. The ancient Greeks created signs for their theatres and any open-air market of any ancient culture shows evidence of signage advertising different wares. With the invention of the printing press and movable type, however, the age of information and advertising truly began.
The history of American advertising is as packed with dates, places, people and events as any other slice of American history, and in "Soap, Sex and Cigarettes" Juliann Sivulka has done an exhaustive job of outlining these very things. With chapters going from 1492-1800, beginning with the colonization of the States, through the Roaring 20's and ending with "1990s and Beyond: The Media Revolution", this book should be required reading for any marketing/advertising undergrad. Indeed, considering the density of the material-- as thorough as any text on the Revolutionary War-- I imagine it IS required collegiate reading for students entering these professions.
The book is packed with various illustrations of real ads from the time periods, and one could easily get an overview of American advertising by simply leafing through the pages and looking at the ads and how they evolve from a 1608 London woodcut pamphlet advertising the New World ("Excellent fruites by Planting in Virginia") to the modern "Just Do It" and "Got Milk?" high glossy ad campaigns. The text is ordered and well written and can be read both as collegiate material and as casual reading (though there are a LOT of dates, places, times and events for the casual reader). The author frequently includes common ad slogans throughout the book that have become staples of American advertising: "His masters voice", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel", "Remember: only YOU can prevent forest fires" and "melts in your mouth, not in your hand" to name just a VERY few. There are also brief timelines of some of the highlights of product inventions that advertising impacted, such as Twinkies introduction in 1930 (originally filled with banana creme), pet rocks in 1975 and the new age of advertising begun in 1989 by Nissan's Infiniti where the actual product was never shown.
The book is subtitled "A Cultural History of American Advertising", but it is here where it falls short. It's an excellent resource for the history of advertising, but it's not so great at demonstrating how advertising has influenced our society. There are short parts demonstrating the stereotype of people of color and women, for example African-American people portrayed as grinning Sambos who are thrilled to ecstasy that Gold Dust washing powder makes your pots n' pans sparkle; Asian people with long pigtails and coolie hats in outlandish dress; women typically in household roles advertising everything from soap to washing machines (while trying to appear sexy at the same time: "You'd think I'm a flapper, but I CAN keep house"-- S.O.S. Pads, 1927). However, this aspect is not nearly as well fleshed-out as I would have expected from the title. I was expecting something more along the lines of cultural anthropology or Noam Chomsky-- explaining how advertising not only reflected society but INFLUENCED it-- and found little to be had.
No one would argue the fact that sex and celebrity status are constantly being used to sell everything from cars to toothpaste, and the unspoken meaning of most ads is something like "Drink Figgy-Fiz Cola and you'll have to beat the beautiful babes away with a lug wrench!" Most people ignore advertisements or complain about them and generally pay little or no attention to them at all. Still, the amount of advertising is only INCREASING as time goes on and the ads do influence our culture substantially. Should you doubt me, ask yourself why were children murdering other children for Nike shoes during the late 80's? No one was attacking me for my black Keds, and God help you if you wore Buster Browns after the age of 4. Why? Because the ads told us there were certain products to value above others (and therefore we could justify paying 120% more for those products as well) and we believed them. THIS sort of "cultural history" and analysis was missing from this book, which is a shame because Ms. Sivulka could have shed quite a lot of light onto this still-dark corner of our society. Perhaps she didn't because the more we know about advertising and how it works, the less power it holds over us.
In closing, "Soap, Sex and Cigarettes" is a great resource both for the professional marketer/advertiser and a fascinating read for the casual thinker of pop/modern culture. It's a bit expensive (though college texts always are), but it's exhaustively researched and very well written. Highly recommended!

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Alana

10 Reasons Why You Should Take a Look

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2009

Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising is a useful supplementary textbook for any student or professional interested in Advertising, Branding, and Marketing. If you are on the fence about purchasing this book, here are 10 easy reasons why you should take a look:

1. Chronological Chapters: From 1492 to "Advertising for Today and Tomorrow", Sivulka provides an easy reference for delving into a particular era or flipping through to walk through American Advertising.

2. Engaging Examples: Starting with page one there are three historical examples of advertising and the book offers a wealth of images- a lot of them humorous and engaging in comparison to society now. For example, an 1884 trade card using chromolithography, showing a man proposing and the female stating "Yes on condition that you buy me a 'Domestic' with new wood work and attachments" and 1962's "I dreamed I took the bull by the horns... in my maidenform bra" (visual on page 327... and yes there is a woman in her bra holding a bull by the horn).

3. Telling Timelines: You will find many interesting timelines in this book: historical dates, brands, advertising firsts, woman's suffrage, early radio, television... beneficial for students with term papers and the professional looking for presentation facts for a meeting.

4. Say it again, Sam: Memorable Slogans: Almost every chapter has the progression of "Memorable Slogans" that you will most likely recall or find amusing, even if only from movies, television and online.

5. Celebrity Callouts: Many chapters feature a callout of a key person in advertising history. This is a helpful resource for learning about key players personally and is extremely useful in referencing for building credibility... and they are fun, easy to read.

6. Taste of the Times: Each chapter contains "A Taste of the Times" which puts you into the right historical setting and the events that are occuring as the chapter proceeds- a beneficial feature for more insight.

7. Cream of the Crop: Bests & Favorites: From Favorite TV Jingles & Best TV Commercials over the years in later chapters. It is always advantageous to review and know what has succeeded in history, from war tactics to advertising and graphic design. Becoming a student of history's bests is a knowledge that is impressive and useful.

8. Status & Sex: Well-known throughout history is the use of someone's status/aspirations and sex in advertising. This book addresses these tactics head-on in a refreshing and tongue-in-cheek manner at times.

9. Impressive Index: In the back of this textbook is a index with every large historical event and specific brands, agencies and terms used often. If you need to find out about Erte or Etch A Sketch, they are right there for easy reference.

10. Easy on the Back: Unlike the majority of textbooks that not only build your brain, but your biceps as well, this book by Thomson/Wadsworth is small, light and easy to carry. A lot of information in a small, colorful package.

Cons: I did find some inconsistencies in details of information from time to time in this book, like with Coca-Cola for example. Yet the book with all of its callouts and humorous examples makes it worth it for simply the laughs and guffaws at American History. Also, this textbook is a bit outdated for the last chapters-- 1998 is over 10 years ago now, but thank goodness this is studying history! You'll still find it useful and engaging.

Overall, I am more than happy to recommend this book to anyone (student or professional) seeking a book on the American History of Advertising, or a conversation starting pop-culture book for the coffee table.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising 1st Edition

There is a newer edition of this item:

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Product information

Technical Details

Feedback

About the author

Juliann Sivulka

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes: A Cultural History of American Advertising 1st Edition

Buy used: $5.67

Buy new: $49.95

There is a newer edition of this item:

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Product information

Technical Details

Feedback

About the author

Juliann Sivulka

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy used:

$5.67

Buy new:

$49.95