Chapter 5 - Section IV-VI Summary and Analysis

In section IV, Boorstin describes how the appearance of advertising has caused a movement from focusing on "truth" to focusing on "credibility". Citing the Graphic Revolution as a primary cause, he states, "By sharpening our images we have blurred all our experiences". Boorstin asserts that there are several aspects of "successful advertising".

The first aspect is "the appeal of the neither-true-nor-false" or "ambiguity". Boorstin describes how Schlitz beer used ambiguity by advertising the fact that the bottles were "steam-sterilized", neglecting to mention the fact that all the other beer companies used the same process. However, the competition could not make the same assertion because it would appear that they were trying to copy Schlitz. The company thus enjoyed the distinction of being the "only" company to use steam. This strategy quickly caught on and began...