The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man (1951)[1] is a study of popular culture by Marshall McLuhan, treating newspapers, comics, and advertisements as poetic texts.

McLuhan chose the ads and articles included in his book not only to draw attention to their symbolism and their implications for the corporate entities that created and disseminated them, but also to mull over what such advertising implies about the wider society at which it is aimed.

He believes the modern "helpless state engendered by prolonged mental rutting is the effect of many ads and much entertainment alike.

By adopting the position of Poe's sailor, readers of Bride can escape from the whirlpool of popular culture.

[6] In June 1948, McLuhan received an advance of $250 for the publication of The Folklore of Industrial Man from Vanguard Press.

He resisted requests to cut entries, to expand on subjects, give examples, underline a point, or generally make the book easier for readers to understand.

[11] He began to suffer from severe headaches during this period, possibly products of the stress, anger, and frustration of his dealings with Vanguard.

[12] Biographer Philip Marchand reports that after the publication, McLuhan complained of a vague "homosexual influence in the publishing world, that was horrified by the masculine vigor of his prose and trying to castrate his text.