Author Meets Critics: Selling the American People: Advertising, Optimization, and the Origins of Adtech

Abstract: Lee McGuigan, author of Selling the American People: Advertising, Optimization, and the Origins of Adtech (MIT Press, 2023), meets with a group of scholars to discuss how his book provides a history of the origins and development of adtech, which has regularly involved the tension between entertaining consumers and focusing on direct selling. The first part of the discussion covers the origins of adtech and the calculative evolution, adtech’s connections to military optimization techniques, ethical concerns surrounding privacy and discrimination, and the industry’s reliance on surveillance technologies. The group also delves into the implications of adtech as a form of control, shaping consumer behavior and societal norms. They reflect on the precariousness of the industry, the gap between marketing hype and practical realities, the potential for public service media systems, the impact of generative AI, and the need for critical perspectives on adtech’s role in society. The panel agrees that McGuigan’s book provides a critical perspective on the political economy of capitalism and the complex dynamics of advertising, media, and technology. Moreover, some participants challenge the notion that advertising is a necessary subsidy for democratic communication, which supports a shift towards public service media systems that prioritize public culture over private value.