ABSTRACT
Through our cultural-historical analysis, we have drawn attention to how the emergence of advertising forms within mediated communication radically changed the cultural discourse of modern industrial societies, and how these forms assumed a privileged place in that discourse. As such advertising impinges directly upon some very sensitive and important areas oflife, and forces policy makers to think very carefully about its proper place within a democratic society. The uniqueness of advertising agencies, and the regulatory issues confronting them, is that they have emerged as the point of mediation between the industrial, cultural, and communications sectors of society. Accordingly, advertising has encountered three different sets of social policy considerations-those connected with business, the media, and social relations.
