This monograph examines the impact of media advertising on the poor. The first half of the report discusses research on the conceptual styles of the poor, mass communication among the poor, and advertising and the low-income consumer. The second half describes the methodology and results of a study of the advertising evaluation capacity and willingness to buy of middle- and low-income groups. The reported results indicate that the poor are more negatively oriented to advertising in general than are their middle-class counterparts. (HTH)