Sponsored Life PB

``Virtually all of modern experience now has a sponsor,'' proclaims advertising critic Savan. This excellent compilation culled from eight years of work writing for the Village Voice amounts to a guided tour of the eponymous ``sponsored life,'' during which an individual encounters an estimated 16,000 ads daily. Savan straps one ad compaign after another to her lab table and dissects each with humor, insight and a healthy dose of rage. From Joe Camel's phallic face to the weapons manufacturing behind G.E.'s ``we bring good things to life'' campaign, no tactic used to rope in consumers escapes Savan's eye. Fresh and often caustic, her writing is replete with antigens to Madison Avenue's seductions: ``Irony is a leaky condom,'' she says, warning elsewhere that ``the promotional is political.'' What makes her criticism so effective is Savan's uneasy self-awareness as she softens toward seemingly progressive pitches (such as Benetton's) or recoils from the latest catchphrases. Savan puts advertising in its cultural context, examining the links between image building and corporate operations in politics, economics and the military. Twice a finalist for a Pulitizer, Savan is an exemplary journalist and critic. This thoughtful collection will appeal to anyone concerned with how ads work, what they're hiding and why they have such a hold on us. (Dec.)