Black Social Dance in Television Advertising

The influence of dance upon consumers has long been understood by advertisers. This work investigates the use of black social dance in television advertising. Covering the 1950s through the 2010s in the United States, dance is shown to provide value to brands and to affect consumption experiences. An interdisciplinary work drawing upon anthropological, phenomenological and cultural theoretical approaches, the text provides a theory of dance for a culture that has consistently drawn upon African-American arts to sell products.

Carla Stalling Huntington is a marketing and management university professor and has led workshops and retreats on dance meditation across the United States. She’s a professional sacred dance facilitator with the Sacred Dance Guild. She lives and works in California.

Carla Stalling Huntington
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 200
Bibliographic Info: 7 illustrations, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-5944-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8695-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Preface      1

Introduction      5

Section One: Literature and Theory

1. Dance Theory      23

2. Marketing, Advertising, and Dance      48

Section Two: The Research Study

3. A History of Black Social Dance in Commercials      77

4. On Black Social Dance in Commercials in 2010      101

5. Interpretations      129

Section Three: Conclusions and Future Directions

Conclusion and Future Research      159

Chapter Notes      169

Bibliography      177

Index      189

“what [Huntington] accomplishes here offers an interesting meld of dance theory and history with commercial need. To say this sheds light on cultural history is putting it mildly—some of the early music illustrated here will shock modern tastes”—Communication Booknotes Quarterly.