Visual Persuasion: The Role of Images in Advertising

by Paul P. Messaris

Overview

The pictures in television commercials, magazine advertisements and other forms of advertising often convey meanings that cannot be expressed as well, or at all, through words or music. Visual Persuasion is an exploration of the uniquely visual aspects of advertising. Because of the implicit nature of visual argumentation and the relative lack of social accountability which images enjoy in comparison with words, pictures can be used to make advertising claims that would be unacceptable if spelled out verbally. From this starting point, Paul Messaris analyzes a variety of commercial, political and social issue advertisements. He also discusses the role of images in cross-cultural advertising.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803972469
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	12/05/1996
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Paul Messaris is Lev Kuleshov Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. He teaches and does research in the area of visual communication and digital media. Recent publications include: The Visual Rhetoric of Social-Cause Photography (Visual Communication Quarterly, 2012), Visual Literacy in the Digital Age (Review of Communication, 2012), and How to Make Money from Subliminal Advertising and Motivation Research (International Journal of Communication, 2013). He was the recipient of the National Communication Association's 1996 Diamond Anniversary Book Award for "Visual Literacy: Image, Mind, and Reality" (Westview Press). His film "The Harmful Effects of Violent Movies," a satirical portrait of academic research, was nominated as Best Feature Film at the International Film Festival of England in 2008.

Table of Contents

Introduction
A Theory of Images in Advertising
PART ONE: IMAGE AS SIMULATED REALITY
Pictures and Reality
Visual Form and Style
Can Pictures Bridge Cultures?
PART TWO: IMAGE AS EVIDENCE
Visual Truth, Visual Lies
PART THREE: IMAGE AS IMPLIED SELLING PROPOSITION
Editing and Montage
Showing the Unspoken
Epilogue
Ethics of Visual Persuasion