Promotional Cultures

Aeron Davis is professor of political communication at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has investigated communication at Westminster, the London Stock Exchange, amongst the major political parties and across the trade union movement. Along the way he has interviewed close to 300 high-profile individuals employed in journalism, public relations, politics, business, finance, NGOs and the civil service. He has published on each of these topics in journals and edited collections and is the author of Public Relations Democracy (MUP, 2002), The Mediation of Politics (Routledge, 2007), and Political Communication and Social Theory (Routledge, 2010).

'Aeron Davis ranges far and wide in media and cultural studies and beyond to bring us this erudite and thoughtful book on what "promotional culture" means in economics, politics, civil society and celebrity culture. Ecumenical, yet retaining a sharp critical edge, this is the best single account of promotional culture I have seen.'David Miller, University of Bath'Drawing on a range of critical intellectual traditions in the study of production, consumption, culture and finance, Davis discusses the rise and penetration of digital-age promotional industries in the service of capitalist commodification. His study will give readers grounding in the theories and debates that dissect the social relations, culture and dialectics of commodity production and the management of consumerism.'Gerald Sussman, Portland State University'Promotional Cultures is a wide-ranging and accessible examination of the different advertising, ownership synergy, public relations and other marketing and promotional forces in our lives. Aeron Davis usefully examines different intellectual traditions that have sought to understand and critique promotional ethos and practices. He also applies these traditions and his own insights to areas in which large-scale promotion is systemic, including activism, media and finance.'Matthew P. McAllister, Penn State University'In another seminal effort to rethink media and communicative power, Aeron Davis dispenses with the idea that the promotional industries are essential to the well-being of markets, democracy, independent media and our own lives.'Dwayne Winseck, Carleton University

• Detailed Contents viPreface and Acknowledgements x1 Introduction 1Part I: Producers, Consumers and Texts2 Production: Industry and it's Critics 153 Audiences and Consumers 344 Texts: Situating the Text in Promotional Culture 51Part II: Commodities, Media and Celebrity5 Commodities: Promotional Influences on the Creation of Stuff 736 News Media and Popular Culture: Promotion and Creative Autonomy 927 Celebrity Culture and Symbolic Power 112Part III: Politics, Markets and Society8 Politics and Political Representation 1359 Conflict and Pluralism in Civil Society 15410 Economies, Speculative Markets and Value 17311 Conclusions 191References 203Index 237