Advertising and Identity in Europe: The I of the Beholder

Advertisers have long been aware of the need to target specific groups of consumers and to appeal to them precisely in terms of their sense of membership of such groups. Our post-industrial society is characterised by greatly altered work and leisure patterns as well as a weakening of national and communal frameworks for collective identity. The interrelated questions ‘Who am I? Who are we?’ are becoming increasingly difficult to answer.

Keywords: Advertising, Europe