Brands and Cultural Analysis

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiii

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2. Theoretical Considerations

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Introduction: Thinking About Brands

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 3-7

   3. What Is a Brand? A Semiotic Analysis

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 9-17

   4. Brands and the Psyche

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 19-33

   5. Brands in Society, Society in Brands

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 35-45

   6. Marketing Brands

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 47-55

   7. Brands in History and History in Brands

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 57-65

   8. Language and Brands

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 67-74

   9. Logos and Visual Signifiers

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 75-85

3. Applications

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 87-87

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   2. The Branded Self

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 89-97

   3. San Francisco as a Brand

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 99-105

   4. Japan as a Brand

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 107-118

   5. Ocean Cruise-Line Wars or Selling the Seas

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 119-126

   6. Brand Sacrality

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 127-135

   7. Brand Discourse

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 137-146

   8. Mythology and Brands

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 147-153

   9. Coda

      • Arthur Asa Berger

      Pages 155-161

4. Back Matter

   Pages 163-177

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This book, written in an accessible style with numerous illustrations and with drawings by the author, discusses what brands are and the role brands play in American society and consumer cultures, in general. The book uses a cultural studies approach and draws upon concepts and theories from semiotics, psychoanalytic theory, sociological theory, discourse theory, and other related fields.  It also quotes from a number of important thinkers whose ideas offer insights into various aspects of brands. Brands has chapters on topics such as what brands are, their role in society, brands and the psyche, brands and history, language and brands, the marketing of brands, brands and logos, the branded self, San Francisco and Japan as brands, brand sacrality, multi-modal discourse analysis and brands, and competition among brands. 

• self-branding
• branding and marketing
• national brands
• culture and society
• visual branding

• Department of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, USA

  Arthur Asa Berger

Arthur Asa Berger is Professor Emeritus of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts at San Francisco State University, USA. He has published more than one hundred papers and more than seventy books on popular culture, media, consumer culture, semiotics, humor, and tourism.  He has lectured at universities in twenty-six countries and his books have been translated into nine languages

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