Selling Themselves: The Emergence of Canadian Advertising was written in 2001 by Russell Johnston, an associate professor at Brock University. Johnston’s book provides an overview of the history of advertising in Canada. The text covers key events and milestones in the Canadian publishing industry from 1850 to 1930. This book outlines the way in which this field transformed from an under-appreciated trade with a poor reputation to a well-respected enterprise. In his work, Johnston (2001) argues that the development of the advertising trade changed the way media texts, such as periodicals, journals, and newspapers, were written. Johnston (2001) suggests that media texts which were once shaped around content evolved to be constructed around the
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This configuration allows for the reader to easily comprehend the timeline of events. On the other hand, Johnston (2001) often focuses on specific stories and examples, which tend to interrupt the flow of the writing. This in turn, negatively impacts the reader’s ability to digest and unpack the key concepts in the text. Core ideas and developments in the emergence of Canadian advertising could get ‘lost’ in the excessive wording. A more concisely written text could allow the reader to better grasp the main themes presented in the book. To further elaborate, consider the following example. In chapter one, Johnston (2001) wrote a paragraph-long anecdote about a copyrighter, Wilson P. MacDonald (p. 40). This example neither contributed to the reader’s understanding of the overall themes presented in the book, nor did it further elaborate upon the rise of advertising agencies (as the title of the chapter indicated). As such, it would have been prudent for Johnston to carefully examine which examples and stories would contribute to the main thematic points of the book.
Selling Themselves: The Emergence of Canadian Advertising offers a solid foundation of knowledge on the history of advertising in Canada. This text provides the groundwork for other academics/scholars to build off of. The concepts in this book are somewhat limited to particular regions of the nation.
This configuration allows for the reader to easily comprehend the timeline of events. On the other hand, Johnston (2001) often focuses on specific stories and examples, which tend to interrupt the flow of the writing. This in turn, negatively impacts the reader’s ability to digest and unpack the key concepts in the text. Core ideas and developments in the emergence of Canadian advertising could get ‘lost’ in the excessive wording. A more concisely written text could allow the reader to better grasp the main themes presented in the book. To further elaborate, consider the following example. In chapter one, Johnston (2001) wrote a paragraph-long anecdote about a copyrighter, Wilson P. MacDonald (p. 40). This example neither contributed to the reader’s understanding of the overall themes presented in the book, nor did it further elaborate upon the rise of advertising agencies (as the title of the chapter indicated). As such, it would have been prudent for Johnston to carefully examine which examples and stories would contribute to the main thematic points of the book.
Selling Themselves: The Emergence of Canadian Advertising offers a solid foundation of knowledge on the history of advertising in Canada. This text provides the groundwork for other academics/scholars to build off of. The concepts in this book are somewhat limited to particular regions of the nation.