Adcreep: The Case Against Modern Marketing

by Mark Bartholomew

Advertising is everywhere. By some estimates, the average American is exposed to over 3,000 advertisements each day. Whether we realize it or not, "adcreep"―modern marketing's march to create a world where advertising can be expected anywhere and anytime―has come, transforming not just our purchasing decisions, but our relationships, our sense of self, and the way we navigate all spaces, public and private. Adcreep journeys through the curious and sometimes troubling world of modern advertising. Mark Bartholomew exposes an array of marketing techniques that might seem like the stuff of science neuromarketing, biometric scans, automated online spies, and facial recognition technology, all enlisted to study and stimulate consumer desire. This marriage of advertising and technology has consequences. Businesses wield rich and portable records of consumer preference, delivering advertising tailored to your own idiosyncratic thought processes. They mask their role by using social media to mobilize others, from celebrities to your own relatives, to convey their messages. Guerrilla marketers turn every space into a potential site for a commercial come-on or clandestine market research. Advertisers now know you on a deeper, more intimate level, dramatically tilting the historical balance of power between advertiser and audience. In this world of ubiquitous commercial appeals, consumers and policymakers are numbed to advertising's growing presence. Drawing on a variety of sources, including psychological experiments, marketing texts, communications theory, and historical examples, Bartholomew reveals the consequences of life in a world of non-stop selling. Adcreep mounts a damning critique of the modern American legal system's failure to stem the flow of invasive advertising into our homes, parks, schools, and digital lives.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

248 pages, Hardcover

Published May 23, 2017

Reviews

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This was a fascinating view into the manipulative world of advertising.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down. Solid analysis on a topic I enjoyed with some pie-in-the-sky assertions that give away the game. This wasn’t really meant to be neutral but I think it would have been more powerful if it were. Sometimes the bias dilutes the argument. The privacy stuff was good and the IP stuff was just ok.

[Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

written by a lawyer and brutally heavy on the language. Some redundancies and re-iteration of the same things over and over to fill the page count. I liked it best, when he told stories or relied on historical precedents and anecdotes. Would be a better audio book. Snooze.

[Seb L · Rating 1 out of 5]

took me over a month to get through this. Not good. Interesting framework but goes bone dry as he gets into legal bullshit that’s not impactful. I should have cut bait on this book. Took me two weeks to finish the last ten pages.

[Ricardo Flores · Rating 2 out of 5]

Libro absoleto para el tema de marketing digital. Tarde mucho tiempo en terminarlo por terco. No lo recomiendo, es bastante aburrido y lo que se menciona ya no es útil.