ABSTRACT
In light of advertising’s immense impact on the social, cultural, and economic aspects of our society, one might reasonably expect the industry to be subjected to considerable public scrutiny and debate. This, however, is rarely the case. Since the end of the Second World War, political debates over advertising’s role and functions have, if anything, dwindled in inverse relation to the advertising industry’s power and prevalence. In those cases where advertising and the commercial culture it begets continue to be challenged, the industry has devised a set of public relations (PR) techniques to prevent public demands for regulation and structural change from gaining a foothold.
