This paper explores the combined effects of everyday life technological devices and advertisements in constituting an efficient way to scientific popularization. We, therefore, analyze mobile telephony advertisements published in a high-circulation Spanish newspaper — La Vanguardia — between 1994 and 1999. We identify content that promoted knowledge about the devices, the service, or the uses of this groundbreaking technology. Advertisements also attach attributes to technology — modernity, freedom, or efficiency. We suggest that the analysis of advertisements that promote everyday life digital devices allows a better understanding of what (digital) technology means to publics.
Date of publication
Jul 20, 2017
Category:
Article
Popularization through press advertisements: mobile telephony in Spain (1994–1999)
Volume 16Issue 032017Special Issue: History of Science Communication, 2017 (History of Scicomm)