Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel »

Jean Kilbourne,Ed.D, is internationally recognized for her pioneering work on alcohol and tobacco advertising and the image of women in advertising. A widely published writer and speaker who has twice been named Lecturer of the Year by the National Association for Campus Activities, she is best known for her award-winning documentaries, Killing Us Softly, Slim Hopes, and Pack of Lies. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

"When was the last time you felt this comfortable in a relationship?"

— An ad for sneakers

"You can love it without getting your heart broken."

— An ad for a car

"Until I find a real man, I'll settle for a real smoke."

— A woman in a cigarette ad

Many advertisements these days make us feel as if we have an intimate, even passionate relationship with a product. But as Jean Kilbourne points out in this fascinating and shocking exposé, the dreamlike promise of advertising always leaves us hungry for more. We can never be satisfied, because the products we love cannot love us back.

Drawing upon her knowledge of psychology, media, and women's issues, Kilbourne offers nothing less than a new understanding of a ubiquitous phenomenon in our culture. The average American is exposed to over 3,000 advertisements a day and watches three years' worth of television ads over the course of a lifetime. Kilbourne paints a gripping portrait of how this barrage of advertising drastically affects young people, especially girls, by offering false promises of rebellion, connection, and control. She also offers a surprising analysis of the way advertising creates and then feeds an addictive mentality that often continues throughout adulthood.

Contents

Foreword by Mary Pipher

Introduction: "A Girl of Many Parts"

The Making of an Activist

1 "Buy This 24-year-old and Get All His Friends Absolutely Free"

We Are the Product

2 "In Your Face...All over the Place!"

Advertising Is Our Environment

3 "Bath Tissue is Like Marriage"

The Corruption of Relationships

4 "Can an Engine Pump the Valves in Your Heart?"

Crazy for Cars

5 "Please, Please, You're Driving Me Wild"

Falling in Love with Food

6 "The More You Subtract, the More You Add"

Cutting Girls Down to Size

7 "Forget the Rules! Enjoy the Wine"

Alcohol and Rebellion

8 "What You're Looking For"

Rage and Rebellion in Cigarette Advertising

9 "The Dream Begins as Soon as You Open the Door"

Advertising an Addictive Mind-Set

10 "In Life There Are Many Loves, But Only One Grande Passion"

Addiction as a Relationship

11 "You Talkin' to Me?"

Advertising and Disconnection

12 "Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt"

Advertising and Violence

13 "Relax. And Enjoy the Revolution"

Redefining Rebellion

Notes

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Index