This book, written in an accessible style with numerous illustrations and with drawings by the author, discusses what brands are and the role brands play in American society and consumer cultures, in general. The book uses a cultural studies approach and draws upon concepts and theories from semiotics, psychoanalytic theory, sociological theory, discourse theory, and other related fields. It also quotes from a number of important thinkers whose ideas offer insights into various aspects of brands. Brands has chapters on topics such as what brands are, their role in society, brands and the psyche, brands and history, language and brands, the marketing of brands, brands and logos, the branded self, San Francisco and Japan as brands, brand sacrality, multi-modal discourse analysis and brands, and competition among brands.

Arthur Asa Berger is Professor Emeritus of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts at San Francisco State University, USA. He has published more than one hundred papers and more than seventy books on popular culture, media, consumer culture, semiotics, humor, and tourism.  He has lectured at universities in twenty-six countries and his books have been translated into nine languages

Part I: Theoretical Considerations.- 1. Introduction: Thinking About Brands.- 2. What is a Brand?  A Semiotic Analysis.- 3. Brands and the Psyche.- 4. Brands in Society, Society in Brands.- 5. Marketing Brands.- 6. Brands in History, History in Brands.- 7. Language and Brands.- 8. Visual Branding: Logos, Icons and Images.- Part II:  Applications.- 9. The Branded Self.- 10. San Francisco as a Brand.- 11. Japan as a Brand.- 12. Brand Competition: Cruises.- 13. Brand Sacrality.- 14. Brand Discourse.- 15. Brand and Myth.- 16. Coda.