This core textbook addresses structural change in the advertising industry, its legal and political environment, and the ways in which people engage with advertising. Providing an assessment of the contemporary and emergent advertising techniques that drive the world’s largest media companies, this second edition charts the scope of recent change at both analytical and creative levels. Accounting for a re-shaped advertising industry, this key text introduces the reader both to the practical make-up of digital advertising, and the theory needed to understand its history and future direction.

Succinct and accessible, this is an ideal text for undergraduate courses in advertising, media studies, communications and marketing. This timely and engaging book is also an essential resource for academics and anyone interested in advertising and what funds modern media.

New to this Edition:
- Fully updated to account for the re-shaped advertising industry and transformed media landscape since the publication of the first edition
- Added coverage of topics including: the creative uses of technology, novel modes of storytelling, adblocking, the pre-eminence of analytics and big data, privacy, growing interest in data about emotional life, and alarm about the role of artificial intelligence and automation in advertising
- Increased number of case studies and analyses of campaigns