Unlike those on a commercial slant, this book provides readers with an understanding of the two-way relationship between advertising and Chinese society.

Major issues addressed in this 14-chapter volume include:

• Rising consumerism
• Consumers' attitudes towards advertising and reactions to advertising appeals
• Cultural messages conveyed in advertisements
• Gender representations
• Sex appeal
• Offensive advertising
• Advertising law and regulation
• Advertising to children and adolescents
• Symbolic meanings of advertisements
• Public service advertising
• New media advertising and its social impact.

Contributed by a group of prominent scholars on Chinese advertising research from the fields of communication, journalism, and marketing, this book resorts to a variety of research techniques including:

• Content analysis
• Survey, experiment
• Semiotic analysis
• Secondary data analysis

The book aims at enhancing the sensitivity of scholars and practitioners interested in Chinese advertising to its social ramifications.