This work investigates how the emergence of mass advertising in Britain functioned as a legal and cultural mechanism that redefined the boundaries of public and private life during the transition to modernity. Anat Rosenberg, a legal historian, utilizes a combination of archival legal records, advertising trade journals, and cultural artifacts to argue that the law did not merely regulate advertising but actively participated in the construction of the consumer subject. The text posits that the legal framework surrounding commercial speech helped normalize the persuasive techniques that define modern market economies.

Scholars in legal history and media studies frequently cite this text for its rigorous synthesis of archival evidence and cultural theory. Experts highlight the book as a significant contribution to understanding how legal institutions shaped the social norms of the modern consumer era.