Deconstruction is a critical literary theory which focuses on the unintentional meanings of a text and aims to achieve an unprejudiced, value-free vision of the social and political power structures in society that combine to produce the text. The development of such critical skills in advertising students will deepen their ability to judge the quality of their work and the work of others. A series of examples of students' deconstruction of advertisements provide examples of how students can "undress the ad" to (1) show how cultural messages are woven into sales messages, and (2) discuss mythology and symbolism, cultural stereotypes of men and women, and sexual fantasy. Deconstruction holds great promise for raising the standards of professionalism in advertising and for shaping a more scholarly approach to the study of advertising. (SR)