THE IMAGE MAKERS: POWER AND PERSUASION ON MADISON AVENUE by William Meyers (Times Books: $16.95; 242 pp.)

All of us are influenced by the steady stream of commercials that flood our television screens and, like them or not, we’ve helped turn advertising into a major American industry. Last year alone Madison Avenue spent $20 billion pitching products on the tube.

“The Image Makers” succeeds at tracing the origins of television advertising and bringing it up-to-date through case studies of America’s top corporations. At the same time, however, adman-turned-author William Meyers is relentless in his attention to psychographics, a new way of grouping consumers into clearly defined targets. It’s an interesting development; research has taken precedence over inspiration in the creative process, but Meyers is guilty of overkill, bogging down an otherwise engaging, fluid text.

Early on, Meyers shows how Madison Avenue methods have evolved from hard to soft sell and finally to scientific sell. During the 1950s, television commercials drummed a product into the viewer’s subconscious. Rosser Reeves pioneered this style with spots for Anacin, M&M;’s and Colgate. Advertising in the 1960s featured effective wit and humor. Bill Bernbach’s commercials for Avis, Volkswagen and American Tourister; Mary Wells’ work with Alka Seltzer and Benson & Hedges led the way.

During the recessionary 1970s, Meyers says, Madison Avenue began to embrace science over art. Young & Rubicam is sighted as the agency most responsible for this new wave of “touch advertising,” creating commercials that appealed to consumers’ individual values and emotions.

The author is at his best reviewing and analyzing some of Madison Avenue’s biggest ad campaigns. We see how Phillip Morris made millions with the help of on-target campaigns for Merit cigarettes, Lite Beer and Seven-Up. Lee Iacocca is profiled--and nearly canonized--for his marketing successes with Ford’s Mustang and with Chrysler. Fat food is the author’s next case study, with McDonald’s cast as the central character. Subsequent segments on advertising strategies in the computer and wine industries are also handled very well.

Meyers’ chapter on what he terms a “gender gap” in the packaged goods industry rings especially true. Today’s woman, he observes, has outgrown Mrs. Olsen; advertising agencies must start appealing to women on a more intelligent, practical level if they want to continue to move products off the shelves.

Less on psychographics and more on the inner workings of the big agencies along Madison Avenue would have strengthened the book. Otherwise, “The Image Makers” comes highly recommended for an insightful and entertaining presentation on advertising’s expanding role in America’s consumer culture.