Twenty Ads That Shook the World ─ The Century's Most Groundbreaking Advertising and How It Changed Us All

James Twitchell takes an in-depth look at the ads and ad campaigns—and their creators—that have most influenced our culture and marketplace in the twentieth century. P. T. Barnum’s creation of buzz, Pepsodent and the magic of the preemptive claim, Listerine introducing America to the scourge of halitosis, Nike’s “Just Do It,” Clairol’s “Does She or Doesn’t She?,” Leo Burnett’s invention of the Marlboro Man, Revlon’s Charlie Girl, Coke’s re-creation of Santa Claus, Absolut and the art world—these campaigns are the signposts of a century of consumerism, our modern canon understood, accepted, beloved, and hated the world over.

\JAMES B. TWITCHELL is the author of several books on advertising, including Adcult USA: The Triumph of Advertising in American Culture and Carnival Culture: The Trashing of Taste in America. He is an alumnus professor of English at the University of Florida.