2015 Susanne K. Langer Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Media Ecology
Association
2013 Book of the Year, Visual Communication Division, National
Communication Association
Amidst the profound upheavals in technology, economics, and culture that
mark the contemporary moment, marketing strategies have multiplied, as
brand messages creep ever deeper into our private lives. In Your Ad
Here, an engaging and timely new book, Michael Serazio investigates the
rise of "guerrilla marketing" as a way of understanding increasingly
covert and interactive flows of commercial persuasion. Digging through a
decade of trade press coverage and interviewing dozens of agency CEOs,
brand managers, and creative directors, Serazio illuminates a diverse
and fascinating set of campaign examples: from the America's Army video
game to Pabst Blue Ribbon's "hipster hijack," from buzz agent bloggers
and tweeters to The Dark Knight's "Why So Serious?" social labyrinth.
Blending rigorous analysis with eye-opening reporting and lively prose,
Your Ad Here reveals the changing ways that commercial culture is
produced today. Serazio goes behind-the-scenes with symbolic creators to
appreciate the professional logic informing their work, while giving
readers a glimpse into this new breed of "hidden persuaders" optimized
for 21st-century media content, social patterns, and digital platforms.
Ultimately, this new form of marketing adds up to a subtle,
sophisticated orchestration of consumer conduct and heralds a world of
advertising that pretends to have nothing to sell.
