This Looks Entertaining – Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know

After reading through Toyland (mentioned here) I flipped to the book’s bibliography and used it as a guide to buy a few more books about the toy industry. And while searching for specific titles I ran across a book titled Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know* . . . and based on the cover image alone I had to get a closer look at the book.

The first thing that really caught me eye was the target age: school grades six to twelve. This is written as an educational text to teach kids about advertising and to help them learn how to resist the charm of ads. Very, very interesting idea for a book and after reading through the complete description and some reviews I ordered this. I’ve no idea if the book will be any good at all, but I am definitely going to read this because I want to see exactly what it teaches kids.

“Though the book is decidedly unscholarly in look and feel, it is thorough in coverage and thought-provoking. Using examples readers will find familiar, it deconstructs ad campaigns without undue condemnation or bias, exposing their sometimes less-than-salient subtexts and neatly outlining the common techniques advertisers use to manipulate consumer appetites. It then provides a quick list of questions young consumers can use to help ensure that their purchasing decisions are tempered by a healthy degree of critical thinking.”