In an era where commercial culture has saturated social life to such an extent that it appears inescapable, David Ciarlo’s recent work, Advertising Empire, sets toward the ambitious task of unpacking the social, political, and economic consequences associated with two centuries of Western advertising. While humanists with specialized backgrounds and research interests in African and Colonial Studies, Cultural Studies, and the History of Advertising seem the most likely primary audiences, Ciarlo successfully constructs an interdisciplinary approach that is inclusive of secondary audiences such as scholars in fields such as Economics, Rhetoric, Public Relations, and Journalism.
