Advertising Is Image Management

As the title of this chapter suggests, the advertising function may be equated, at least in part, to the creation and management of product imagery; that is, the set of meanings and associations that serve to differentiate a product or service from its competition. Obviously, the authors are not the first ones to come upon this way of looking at advertising. One might refer back to Ogilvy’s (1963) Confessions of an Advertising Man for a recommendation that brand image should be the basis for developing sound advertising strategies.