cover image ""Are They Selling Her Lips?"": Advertising and Identity

""Are They Selling Her Lips?"": Advertising and Identity

Carol Moog. William Morrow & Company, $18.95 (236pp) ISBN 978-0-688-08704-3

How much and what kind of power does advertising exercise over us, especially over our self-image, asks psychologist and advertising consultant Moog in this penetrating, authoritative study of techniques designed to seduce consumers of all ages from every social, ethnic and economic group. Citing examples of the damaging effects of pervasive advertising on her patients, Moog shows that a language of symbols sells fantasies, often subliminally, and imposes an unrealizable ideal lifestyle. Ads exploit guilt, insecurities and obsession with youth, and cater to vanity and social status, the author argues; also, they largely determine our sexual and political choices and influence cultural attitudes. Photos. Author tour. (Mar.)