James B. Twitchell is the author of many books, including Carnival Culture: The Trashing of Taste in America, and Lead Us Into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism, both published by Columbia.

Twitchell is the beaming Koresh of Adcult... Often amusing and illuminating, but always extreme-just like advertising. Time Out, New York What are we to make of this mixture of high and not-so-high culture? 'If we find the process invigorating, you call it bricolage,'writes Twitchell. 'If not, you call it tasteless.' Adweek Twitchell eloquently excoriates the standard dull rants about the evils of commercialism. In true postmodern fashion, he argues that there can be no meaningful division between high art and advertising... Not a single page is without a cleverly turned sentence, thought-provoking remark, or outrageous conclusion. Wired

• Preface 1. Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz: American Culture Awash in a Sea of Advertising 2. We Build Excitement: The Delivery of Adcult 3. Strong Enough for a Man but Made for a Woman: The Work of Adcult 4. Halo Everybody, Highlow: Adcult and the Collapse of Cultural Hierarcy 5. Takes a Licking, but Keeps on Ticking: The Future of AdcultSelective Bibliography Index