Lexington Books
Pages: 258
Trim: 6½ x 9½
978-1-7936-2934-0 • Hardback • January 2022 • $100.00 • (£77.00)
978-1-7936-2935-7 • eBook • January 2022 • $45.00 • (£35.00)
Susan H. Sarapin is associate professor of journalism and communication at Troy University.
Pamela L. Morris is assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus.
Chapter 1: Preface: Let There Be Light
Chapter 2: What, in Heaven’s Name, Is It?
Chapter 3: Religion and Advertising: Scrambling the Sacred and Profane
Chapter 4: In the Beginning: At the Intersection of Damascus Road and Madison Avenue
Chapter 5: Selling the Goods Amidst the Good News
Chapter 6: Apparel: The Fabric of American Faith
Chapter 7: Marketing Religion on the Streets
Chapter 8: The Bible Tells Me So: Scriptural Metaphors in Advertising for Nonprofits
Chapter 9: Revelations of the Future of Holy Hype
About the Authors
In Holy Hype, Susan H. Sarapin and Pamela L. Morris describe the religious tropes used to sell religious and nonreligious products. God, Jesus, angels, devils, Noah’s ark, the Garden of Eden, rabbis, monks, nuns, and assorted denominational stereotypes have been co-opted in advertisements for computers, cameras, cars, and copiers. Some religious imagery in advertising is clever and relational, some less so. Some ads have sparked backlash for mixing the sacred with the allegedly profane. As the authors note, with increasing secularism, future audiences may have less familiarity with the religious frames associated with such ads. Throughout this book, Sarapin and Morris offer historical perspectives on the holy hype behind both religious and secular consumerism.
— Anthony Hatcher, Elon University