"Brands and logos are all around us - from the clothes we wear and the objects we buy, to the advertisements which cover our cities and the celebrities created by the media. We regard the brand as a new phenomenon, something born with the consumer society, but branding was born with...

This detailed and insightful text explains how advertising comes to cast its shadow over contemporary consumer culture. Case examples are used to illustrate the power of advertising to portray brand 'personalities' in terms that resonate with consumers across many cultures