A theory of images in advertising. Image as simulated reality. Pictures and reality -- Visual form and style -- Can pictures bridge cultures? Image as evidence. Visual truth, visual lies. Image as implied selling proposition. Editing and montage -- Showing the unspoken -- Epilogue : ethics of visual persuasion
Summary
The pictures in television commercials, magazine advertisements and other forms of advertising often convey meanings that cannot be expressed as well, or at all, through words or music. Visual Persuasion is an exploration of the uniquely visual aspects of advertising. Because of the implicit nature of visual argumentation and the relative lack of social accountability which images enjoy in comparison with words, pictures can be used to make advertising claims that would be unacceptable if spelled out verbally. From this starting point, Paul Messaris analyzes a variety of commercial, political
