Advertising Division
Research
Motivation Crowding and Word of Mouth Advertising: Why Extrinsic Incentives Could Make People Less Likely to Buzz • George Anghelcev, Penn State University; John Eighmey, University of Minnesota • Drawing on research in psychology and economics, the study explains how extrinsic incentives such as coupons, discounts, or other tangible rewards can decrease rather than increase consumer response. An experiment shows that when consumers who like a brand are offered tangible extrinsic rewards for engaging in Word-of-Mouth advertising, their response diminishes in extent and quality compared to a condition when no rewards are offered. Theoretical and practical implications for WOM and buzz advertising are discussed.
Communicating to Ethnic Minorities with Culturally Embedded Ads: The Effect of Cultural Identification and Self-Construal • Osei Appiah, The Ohio State University and Yung-I Liu, Cleveland State University • This study examines Chinese consumers’ reactions to advertising messages that contain symbols indicative of Chinese culture. In Study 1, a total of 121 Asian participants viewed targeted and non-targeted advertisements that were either absent or present of traditional ethnic-specific cultural cues. The strength of Chinese participants’ interdependent cultural identity was also assessed.
Stay Away From Me: A Conceptual Model of Personalized Advertising Avoidance • Tae Hyun Baek, University of Georgia; Mariko Morimoto, University of Georgia • This study focuses on the effects that personalized advertising carried by different media formats, including unsolicited commercial e-mail (spam), postal direct mail, telemarketing, and text messaging, can have on consumer skepticism toward the advertising media as well as on the likelihood of ad avoidance. The results of this study show that among the potential antecedents of ad skepticism and avoidance, personalization has the strongest effect, followed by perceived irritation associated with personalized advertising and perceived privacy concern.
Across the Ages: Are College Age Adults a Viable Segment for DTC Prescription Drug Advertising? • Jennifer Ball, University of Texas at Austin; Danae Manika, The University of Texas at Austin; Patricia Stout, University of Texas at Austin • Direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising studies have typically focused on older adults or a general population of adults. However, college students have the potential to be viable targets for DTC advertising too. In this paper, we compare college students and an adult sample divided between younger and older adults. Our findings indicate all age groups had relatively high awareness of DTC ads and similar attitudes and behavioral responses to the ads.
“You Are What You Eat!” An Investigation of CARU Cases Involving Nutritional Complaints from 2000-2006 • Courtney Carpenter Childers, University of Tennessee; Mariea Hoy, University of Tennessee; Margaret Morrison, University of Tennessee • Advertising food and beverage products to children has long been linked to rising obesity rates among children in the United States. The Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) plays a key role in monitoring all advertisements targeted to consumers under the age of 12. Using content analysis, CARU nutritional complaint cases from 2000-2006 were examined. Results show that 34.3% (n=24) of CARU cases during this time frame dealt with nutritional complaints.
Effects of Gaming System and Interpersonal Playing Context on Individuals’ Memory of In-Game Advertisements • Frank Dardis, Penn State University; Mike Schmierbach, Penn State University • Research on the effects of in-game advertising has grown steadily during the 2000s. However, there are two interesting gaps in this research that are noteworthy to scholars and practitioners alike: no studies have compared different gaming systems vis-à-vis each other in the same experiment, and no studies have incorporated multiple-player contexts into their research designs.
Spoofing: Social Commentary or Effective Marketing Tool? Testing the Reciprocal Mediation Hypothesis in Spoof Advertisements • Lucian Dinu, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Sidharth Muralidharan, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; William Davie, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; William Swain, University of Louisiana at Lafayette • This paper tested the culture jammers’ implicit assumption that spoof ads work as a social commentary that prevent consumers from using spoofed brands. An experimental design was used to follow the propositions of the Reciprocal Mediation Hypothesis. Although attitudes toward spoofed brands were not influenced by spoof ads, purchase intentions were. Spoofing in itself, rather than attitudes towards the spoof ads, may lead to lower purchase intentions.
Live Fast, Die (in memory) Older?: Seeing Faster Banner Ads Increases Memory for Products in Unrelated Ads • Brittany Duff, University of Illinois; Sela Sar, Iowa State University • While previous research on banner ad animation has generally indicated that animation leads to arousal, there have been conflicting findings for memory and behaviors related to the ad causing arousal. We offer two competing theoretical explanations and conducted an experiment that showed that not only is self-reported arousal higher for faster animation ads, but also that those who saw the faster ad are more likely to remember products in a subsequently seen circular ad.
Understanding Consumer’s Creating Behavior of User-Generated Contents, An Application of Uses and Gratification and Theory of Reasoned Action • Chang Dae Ham, University of Missouri; Joonghwa Lee, University of Missouri; Hyung-Seok Lee, University of North Florida • Based on the theory of uses and gratification with combination with theory of reasoned action, this study examined why consumer creates user-generated contents (UGC) and how their behavioral belief, in combination with subjective norm, influence attitudes toward, intention to, and behavior of creating UGC respectively. The result identified five significant motivations to create UGC, which partly predicted attitudes, intention and behavioral factor of creating UGC.
When Trust Falters: Consumer Responses to Online Risks and Implications for Internet Advertising • Jisu Huh, University of Minnesota • A number of surveys suggest that consumers have been cutting back or retreating from online shopping. This paper examines the role of trust and its absence in online consumer behavior using data from a national survey. The results reveal that some consumers reduce or retreat from online shopping and trust measures are more useful predictors of consumer stances toward online shopping than demographic characteristics.
Is Your Tourist Destination Sincere, Rugged, or Sophisticated? An Exploratory Examination of Online Brand Personality of Nations • Rajul Jain, University of Florida; Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida • Adopting Aaker’s (1997) brand personality framework, this study explores how nations communicate their brands online in the context of international tourist destinations. Results of computer-aided content analysis of official tourism websites and correspondence analysis indicate that the countries examined do indeed possess distinctive brand personalities and communicate them online. The personality of “sincerity” was expressed most frequently by these nation brands. There are no observable similarities in brand personality based on regional similarities.
Advertising in A Live Drama: Audiences’ Game Involvement in the Super Bowl and Advertising Effectiveness • Yongick Jeong, LSU; Lance Porter, Louisiana State University • This quasi-experiment investigates the impact of audiences’ game involvement during the Super Bowl on advertising effectiveness by testing three determinants (field position, time and score). Using commercials aired during four years of Super Bowl broadcasts, we found that two measures of game time (official game time and actual broadcasting time) negatively affect the recognition of brands.
Recall of and attitudes toward brand placement in reality TV programming • Temitayo Fayemi, University of Central Florida; Rick Kenney, University of Central Florida • This study measures college students’ attitudes toward, and the effectiveness of, brand placement in the genre of reality television (TV). Surveys were used to discover the level of brand recall for the products and brands displayed in reality TV programming and to discover viewers’ reported reasons for paying attention to these brands.
When and Who Should Use a CSR Corporate Strategy: Examination of Relative Effectiveness for Corporate Strategies on Consumer Responses • Sora Kim, DePaul University • The study found that when a company is well-known to consumers as Motorola and Kellogg used in this study, a CSR strategy is more effective in influencing both consumer corporate ability (CAb) and CSR associations and in turn, company/ product evaluations. Consumers tend to automatically assume a company is also good at making reliable products when consumers associate the company with strong CSR, indicating transferring effects of CSR associations onto CAb associations, and onto company/product evaluations.
Something Larger than the Nation: “SELF” • Nam Young Kim, Louisiana State University; Jay (Hyunjae) Yu, Louisiana State University • Military enlistment is a life-long commitment for youths to make. Therefore, the military needs to consider how to convince potential enlistees about the merits of joining the military through informative advertising, in response to the youths’ demands to know. In particular, the modern young generation has been characterized as “self-interested” individuals who pursue personal achievement and material possessions.
Determinants of Cause-Related Marketing Consumer Support and Its Consequences • Hyuksoo Kim, The University of Alabama; Seounmi Youn, Emerson College • This study investigated the determinants of support for CRM alliances and its consequences. As a theoretical framework, this study incorporated two theories, the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Theory of Social Behavior, into one integrative model. This model was used to assess attitude toward companies with either positive or negative CSR reputations. The findings provide valuable information to companies with bad reputations about whether CRM can be a useful tool for strengthening brand equity.
Who are the Opinion Leaders? The Physicians, the Patients, and Direct-to-consumer Prescription Drug Advertising • Annisa Lai, The Chinese University of Hong Kong • A popular perception holds that physicians prescribe requested drugs to patients influenced by mass mediated direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising. This study finds that physicians only prescribe requested drugs to patients influenced by other healthcare providers, such as pharmacists, nurses and other physicians.
Attitudes toward Food Advertising and Issue Importance:Influence on Obesity Attribution and Food-Marketing Policy Evaluation • Jung-Sook Lee, Towson University • Using attribution theory and the Elaboration Likelihood Model, the study investigates the influence of consumers’ attitudes toward food advertising and the perceived importance of obesity on social attributions of obesity and consumers’ attitudes toward food-marketing policy. Findings from a survey of 315 college students indicate that both attitudes toward food advertising and the perceived importance of obesity show significant relationships with attitudes toward food-marketing policy, both directly and indirectly through social attributions of obesity.
Branded Product Information Search on the Web • Chunsik Lee, University of Florida; Junga Kim, University of Minnesota; Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida • Drawing upon the cost-benefit framework and trust mechanism as a risk reducer, this study examines the role of brand factors and source credibility in branded product information search on the Web. The online survey was conducted under the pre-purchase context of digital camera brands. The results revealed that brand factors did not influence overall branded information search efforts. However, brand trust and source credibility appeared to influence the different types of online information sources sought.
Structural Equation Modeling of Consumer Perception of Values Advocacy Advertising: The Consequent Effects of Self-Construal on the Outcomes, Behavioral Intention, and Purchase Intention. • Yoon-Joo Lee, University of Southern Indiana; Eric Haley, University of Tennessee; Kiseol Yang, University of North Texas • This study attempted to show a holistic picture of how consumers may process values advocacy advertising messages and expanded on prior studies by incorporating individual differences in terms of how consumers perceived themselves through the concept of self-construal. A majority of prior studies have focused on the various factors leading to the positive attitude toward the company sponsoring social issues (Rifon, et.al., 2004; Dean, 2002), or the purchase intention (Sen and Bhattacharya, 2001).
A mediation model of the impact of for- and non-profit environmental advertisement • Andrea Maruniak, University of Missouri; Glenn Leshner, University of Missouri • This study tested how participants react to both non-profit and for-profit advertising in the domain of pro-social environmental marketing, and tested whether certain reactions predicted the likelihood that they will act on the behaviors requested by the ads. A second aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of non-profit environmental advertising to for-profit environmental advertising. The growth of environmental marketing has generated advancement for environmentally conscious advertisers and their products.
Presidential TV Commercials: Isolating the Key Lexical Characteristics of “Winners” and “Losers,” 1952-2004 • Dennis Lowry, Southern Illinois University; Md. Naser, Southern Illinois University Carbondale • Many studies have been conducted on presidential TV commercials, but analyzing the commercials in terms of “winners” versus “losers” has been largely overlooked. This study used Diction 5.0 lexical analysis software to analyze 1,027 presidential TV commercials from 1952 through 2004. Commercials of winners were significantly higher on “positive and dynamic” variables such as Inspiration, Accomplishment, Concreteness, and Activity, while losers tended to emphasize variables such as Self-reference, Tenacity, Cognition, and Passivity.
The Changing Face of the U.S. Military: A textual analysis of U.S. Army and Navy Recruiting Advertisements from pre-9-11 to six years into the Iraq War • Maryann Rowland, Louisiana State University; Lisa Lundy, Louisiana State University • This study examined changes in U.S. military recruiting advertisements on television during the eight-year period of the Bush administration. A comparative socio-historic analysis found that the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy responded to the downturn in military enlistment due to anti-war and anti-militarism climate by shifting the focus of message strategies in recruiting advertisements that aired on television.
Portrait of the Brand as an Extension of the Self: Effects of Self-Brand Connections and Argument Strength in Social Marketing • Christina Malik, UNC-Chapel Hill; Sriram Kalyanaraman, UNC-Chapel Hill • Research has shown that people’s relationships with brands are more complex than merely viewing the brand as favorable or unfavorable. We report results from an experiment that examined the interplay between self-brand connections (strong and weak SBCs) and argument strength (strong and weak arguments) in the context of a social marketing message. The results broadly support the heuristic systematic model (HSM) and suggest that both SBCs (heuristics) and arguments influenced persuasion, albeit in different ways.
I approve this message: Effects of sponsorship, ad tone, and reactance in 2008 presidential advertising • Patrick Meirick, University of Oklahoma; Gwendelyn Nisbett, University of Oklahoma • Existing research on the effects of candidate vs. third-party sponsorship of political ads has reached divergent conclusions. In this experiment (N = 198), political knowledge and sponsorship interacted such that high-knowledge respondents reacted more favorably to candidate-sponsored ads. Negative ads provoked more reactance and lower evaluations than positive ads.
Understanding High Sensation Seekers: Perceived Persuasiveness and Emotional Response to Blame and Attack Anti-tobacco Ads • Jensen Moore, West Virginia University • This study used 2 (SS – Low/High) X 2 (Message Type – Attack/Blame) X 2 (MSV – Low/High) repeated measures experimental design to examine what type of anti-tobacco message (i.e., Blame vs. Attack) and sensation levels would influence attitudes, behaviors, and emotional responses of High Sensation Seeking (SS) individuals – those most likely to currently smoke or smoke in the future.
Promoting Health (Implicitly)? A Longitudinal Content Analysis of Implicit Health Information in Cigarette Advertising, 1954-2003 • Hye-Jin Paek, Michigan State University; Leonard Reid, University of Georgia; Hojoon Choi, University of Georgia; Hyunju Jeong, Michigan State University • Health information in cigarette advertising is important because of its potential to impact consumers’ smoking-related perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors. This study analyzed implicit health information in cigarette magazine ads —”light” cigarette, cigarette pack color, verbal and visual health cues, cigarette portrayals, and human model-cigarette interaction—and changes in the use of those cues in ads across the five distinct smoking eras covering the years, 1954-2003.
Movies and MySpace: The Effectiveness of Official Websites versus Online Promotional Contests • Emily Mabry, Louisiana State University; Lance Porter, Louisiana State University • This study used a comparison of survey results from an official movie site and a movie contest promotion within a MySpace site to compare and contrast the effectiveness of the two online promotional tactics. Results found overall positive attitudes toward the sites produced more favorable intent to purchase and movie opening weekend behavior. In addition, the official website was more effective than the MySpace promotional page at increasing intent to see and attendance on opening weekend.
The Role of Mood and Gender in Consumer’s Information Processing: Exploring the Effects on Memory and Judgment • Sela Sar, Iowa State University; Brittany Duff, University of Illinois • Two experiments were conducted to explore the effects of mood and gender in information processing strategies, and to investigate their effects in memory and attitude toward advertising messages. Results indicated that people in positive mood and women were more likely to use the assimilative processing style whereas people in a negative mood and men tended to use the accommodative processing style. Implications for advertising strategies and measurement are discussed.
Put Them in a Positive Mood! Effects of Affective Conditioning Techniques on Cognitive and Emotional Responses to Print Ads • Mija Shin, Washington State University • This study examined how readers process print ads featuring various stimuli that generate emotions and how they evaluate the ads. Three stimuli (nature images, animated characters and celebrities) frequently seen in print ads were selected in this study and compared with the control ads. Taking the perspective of affective classical conditioning theory, this study predicted that the ads featuring these stimuli would be more effective than their counterparts (i.e., ads without such features).
Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices on Mobile Phone Companies • Alex Wang, University of Connecticut-Stamford • Despite the increasing importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices as an effective reputation management, there has been limited understanding about its impact on mobile phone companies. Research has identified ethical, discretionary, and relational practices as three main dimensions of CSR practices. This study examined the effects of consumers’ perceptions of these three dimensions on their attitudes toward mobile phone companies.
Predictors of Consumer Behavior of Avoiding Mobile Phone Ads: A Structural Causal Modeling Analysis• Ran Wei, University of South Carolina; Xiaoming Hao, Nanyang Technological University • This study explores predictors of consumer avoidance of mobile phone advertising with a structural modeling approach. The model underscores the effects of perceived goal impediment, perceived irritation, past negative experience, and privacy concerns on avoidance of mobile phone advertising. Using empirical data collected from a survey of 407 mobile phone users in Singapore, the theoretical model was tested.
What’s on the menu in food advertising on child-rated television programs? • Jan Wicks, University of Arkansas Journalism Department; Ron Warren, Univ. of Arkansas Communication Dept.; Ignatius Fosu, University of Arkansas; Robert Wicks, University of Arkansas • A content analysis of over 2,400 food advertisements on 10 broadcast and cable networks was conducted in 2008. The results suggest most disclaimers were not presented in dual modality or simultaneously in the ad’s audio and video content. Ads appearing in child-rated programs present more of the emotional appeals and production techniques that might distract youngsters from attending to disclaimers. Future research should examine whether these techniques and appeals divert children’s attention from disclaimers.
Are All Products Placed Equal?: The Integration Effects of Conspicuous Product Placement on Affective Brand Attitude • Sukki Yoon, Bryant University; Yung Kyun Choi, Dongguk University; Sujin Song, University of Rhode Island; Sangho Seo, Konkuk University • Using real movie scenes as stimuli, Study 1 demonstrates that consumer feelings toward the placed brand improve when the product is seamlessly integrated, but deteriorate when the product is intrusively integrated. Study 2 shows that poor integration’s brand-damaging can be reversed to a brand-enhancing effect if viewers are cognitively preoccupied with another task. Study 2 further suggests that poor integration’s reactance-induced boomerang effect might increase the affective evaluation of the not-shown competitor.
Gender Difference in College Students’ Interpretation of Alcohol Advertising • Yanjun Zhao, SUNY Morrisville • This study examined gender differences in college students’ interpretation of alcohol advertising. It followed the various mediating variables mapped out in Austin’s MIP model. A judgment-task survey by 94 college students was conducted in 2008. Results showed significant differences in identification with characters in ads and positive expectancies toward drinking. Future study should also pay attention to the important role of drinking pattern as a control variable.
Teaching
Quality of Work and Team Spirit as Drivers of Student Peer Evaluation on Advertising Group Project Performance • Jooyoung Kim, University of Georgia; Tae Hyun Baek, University of Georgia; Daehyun Kim, University of Georgia • Using advertising management and campaigns course students, this study investigates the dimensions of peer evaluation criteria used by college students, and examines their effects on overall peer evaluation under the influence of three moderating self-related concepts: self-esteem, self-competence, and goal orientations (i.e., learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation). The results from Study 1 suggest Quality of Work and Team Spirit as two important factors for students’ evaluation of their peers.
Experiential Learning and Advertising Media Sales: A Case Study Perspective • Bobbi Kay Lewis, Oklahoma State University • Experiential Learning Theory, largely based on the educational philosophy of John Dewey, Paulo Friere, and Carl Rogers, provides an understanding of how the process of learning works. David Kolb developed the Experiential Learning Model of experiential education that involves a cyclical approach including experience, reflection, abstract conceptualization and application in a new situation. This article applies the concept and the roots of experiential learning theory to the application of teaching advertising media sales. A case study illustrates the use of project-based curriculum using student media.
Crossed Swords: The Teaching of Creativity in Advertising Courses • Mark Stuhlfaut, University of Kentucky and Margo Berman, Florida International University • The study investigated teaching of creative strategy within undergraduate advertising courses at U.S. colleges and universities. Using Web-site information, 17 curricular structures were found, which indicate a lack of pedagogical consensus. Using 55 current syllabi, researchers analyzed goals, content, textbooks, and teaching methods. Copywriting and creative-strategy courses duplicated each other in all categories, suggesting that reorganization may be needed. The challenge for educators is to keep the teaching of creative strategy relevant and current. The study should be interesting to administrators who are restructuring their programs and to educators who are designing new curricula or who would like new idea for their courses.
Professional Freedom & Responsibility
Content Analysis of Male Domesticity and Fatherhood in Taiwanese Commercials: Family Man in Advertising? • Wanhsiu Tsai, University of Miami • This study examines how Taiwanese commercials represent women, and in particular, men, in the family context as spouses and parents. A content analysis of prime-time commercials is conducted. Advertising representations of gender roles have made only slight and slow progress. Men are much less likely than women to be shown doing housework and taking care of children. Although men are shown as nurturant fathers, their involvements with children are limited to playing with children.
Regulatory Focus and Proportional Representation: Can Minority Status Affect Motivation in Female Creatives? • Kasey Windels, DePaul University; Wei-Na Lee, The University of Texas at Austin • Females are underrepresented in advertising agencies by a ratio of 2.3 to 1. This paper examines the impact of gender proportions on motivational regulatory focus. It is hypothesized that group gender proportions can induce regulatory focus. Whereas minority proportions should induce a prevention focus, majority proportions should induce a promotion focus. Results of an experiment support this assumption. The possible impact of minority status and a prevention focus on female creatives in advertising is discussed.
Are Food Commercials Healthy Enough? – Health Information Manifested in TV Food Ads Aiming at Children • Jay (Hyunjae) Yu, Louisiana State University • Since TV food advertising has been accused by several groups to be one of the major factors influencing children’s unhealthy eating habits and even obesity, the food companies kept promising to make some changes by including more health information for children in the content of their advertising. However, there have not been enough empirical studies investigating if the advertisements actually contain health-related messages and information for their major target audience, children.
Special Topics
Sponsortising or Advership: The Views of One Collegiate Athletic Program’s Corporate Supporters • Glenda Alvarado, University of South Carolina • The line between sponsorship and advertising is one that is burred. Researchers and practitioners offer a definition that is separate and allows for some kind of clarity. When looking at the sponsoring businesses, the focus on what constitutes a sponsorship begins to disappear.
Art Museum Marketing Communication: an account planner’s perspective • Jim Avery, University of Oklahoma • Art museums have adopted a new level of sophisticated marketing in order to increase revenue and attract new audiences. This paper seeks to identify the information necessary to determine marketing strategy for art museums by learning: 1. who are the target group(s) 2. what is the criteria this audience uses to make decisions 3. what is unique about art museums This paper addresses these issues by conducting in-depth interviews with high level art museum marketing professionals.
“Reach for a Lucky Instead of a Sweet”: A History of Advertising’s Most Controversial Campaign • Fred Beard, University of Oklahoma; Anna Klyueva, University of Oklahoma • This historical study examines arguably the most controversial advertising campaign of all time. Critics have condemned The American Tobacco Company’s “Reach for a Lucky Instead of a Sweet” campaign for its explicit attempt to encourage smoking among women by linking cigarettes with themes of slenderness and youth.
Been There. Haven’t Done That Yet: An Innovative Technique for Introducing The Creative Process into 21st Century Education • Linda Correll, affiliation • There’s a change in the air. Creativity has become a hot commodity, and 21st century education must update itself to introduce students to the 21st century skills they will need to compete successfully in the global business arena. Creative Aerobics is an evolutionary idea generation system that lets users create, on demand, in a comfortable, relaxed brainstorming environment. It is a cross-cultural, process-driven system that exponentially increases results.
The Abercrombie Effect: Consumer Responses to “Gay Vague” Imagery in Advertising • Glenn Griffin, SMU; Jacqueline Lambiase, University of North Texas; Kartik Pashupati, Southern Methodist University • Advertising that uses “gay vague” imagery in an effort to appeal to both straight and gay consumers is popular among fashion brands, most notably by U.S. clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch. This study analyzes consumers’ responses to “gay vague” ads, their “reading strategies” for images, and how the strategy affects attitude toward the brand (Ab).
Insights from Venus for Academic Creative Directors • Jean Grow, Marquette University • This study addresses gender issues in creative departments based on the interviews of 21 top creative women from the United States and Canada. Content analysis of interviews led to six thematic categories related to creative work, gender and personality. The study defines some of the unspoken rules of the creative game. It suggests the need for an evolution to a fluid and open creative domain, extending beyond the constraining bonds of gender-bound creative culture.
Will digital media change the world for creative women? An exploratory study. • Karen Mallia, University of South Carolina • Advertising watchers have seen seismic changes in the business since the dawn of digital media. New channels have rapidly supplanted traditional media, as advertising has moved beyond rudimentary Internet display ads into the likes of viral video and social networking. While many have studied new creative products, few have investigated whether the creative process has changed, as new players nudge out traditional agencies and traditional agencies struggle to reinvent themselves.
Cultural Values of Generation Y Reflecting in iPod Commercials • Nutthanun Rajanakorn, University of Tennessee • Semiotic analytical method was utilized to investigate 20 iPod TV commercials to reveal the cultural values of Generation Y. Five crucial elements from iPod TV commercials: language, color, characters, movements, and shot were identified, and interpreted into first level meanings, which are the silhouettes, the movements and shot, and the music. Further analysis revealed the underlying themes associated with Gen Y’s cultural values: individualism, diversity, optimism, fun, and freedom.
Is the Television Ratings Industry Facing Structural Change? • Dan Shaver, Jönköping International Business School/MMTC • Although the audience research industry is competitive, the segment of that industry that produces television/video ratings data is essentially monopolistic in structure. This study examines whether a convergence of changes in audience consumption patterns, dissatisfaction with current measurement techniques and data by those who buy it and technological innovation are creating a situation where competitive challenges to current measurement firms may emerge.
Teens and Trends: Measuring Innovativeness • Amy Struthers, University of Nebraska-Lincoln • This study is part of a long-term research agenda aimed at better understanding consumer trends, and the small segment of people who create and advance trends. In particular, this quantitative study is an exploration of what characteristics teenage trend leaders possess. The researchers addressed the problem of finding an effective methodology and measurement tools that could be used to discover this important information about teenagers.
How Can We Make People Better Recognize and Recall Advertising Disclaimers? -The Possible Influences of Humor in Ads and Disclamiers’ Repetition • Jay (Hyunjae) Yu, Louisiana State University • This experimental study, a 2*2 factorial design, focuses on young adults’ (between ages 20 and 27) recognition and recall of disclaimers in television advertising (e.g., “Keep Your Pace. Please Drink Responsibly”). As a stimulus for the experiment, humor was applied to advertising to determine if participants are better able to recognize and memorize advertising disclaimers. In addition, the participants were divided into two other groups: the treatment being exposed either once or twice to advertising disclaimers.
Student Papers
The Influence of Advertising Spacing on Candidate Evaluation • Juliana Fernandes, University of Florida • An experimental study investigates the influence of message spacing on candidate evaluation. Participants watched a 30-min TV show with one, three, or five insertions of a negative political advertisement. Repetitions of the advertisement were close together (massive presentation) or spread out (spaced presentation). Results show that massive presentations can harm the sponsor and benefit the target candidate. Spaced presentations greatly benefit the sponsor candidate and may produce a backlash effect toward the target candidate.
A Structural Model of the Communication Process in the Context of Internet Advertising • Jun Heo, University of Florida • This research develops a structural equation model that examines the causal relations among motives for using the Internet, Internet involvement, and outcomes such as media usage time and attitude toward Internet advertising. The results show that certain ritualistic motives predict affective involvement in the Internet, whereas certain instrumental motives predict cognitive involvement.
Transportation and Selective Interest in Advertising: The Cultivation of Consumerist Values through Genre-Specific Media Use • Fan Hu, Hong Kong Baptist University; Ning Wang, Hong Kong Baptist University • This research delineates what media use influences values judgments and what values judgments are influenced by media use. The specific media genre of beauty and fashion magazines is examined for spreading consumerist values of materialism and beauty-and-thin ideal. Two media variables—transportation and interest in advertisements—are used to gain new insights into cultivation processes. Traditional cultivation survey is employed. Young women, both college students and non-students are included in the sample (n = 413).
Incidental Exposure Effects of Brand Placement: Comparisons of incidental exposure effects between familiar and unfamiliar brands placed in a televised sports program • Dae-Hee Kim, University of Florida • For the purpose of extending knowledge about the effects of incidental exposure, a laboratory experiment using incidental brand exposures in a TV sports program was conducted. By manipulating brand familiarity and exposure frequency for the stimuli, attitude toward brands and brand choices were measured. The results indicate that the effects of incidental exposure can be observed only for familiar brands, not for unfamiliar brands. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.
Our Brand or Their Brand? Consumers’ Responses to Negative Online Product Reviews Regarding Domestic versus Foreign Brands • Mikyoung Kim, Michigan State University • This study examines how different cues influence consumers’ responses to negative online reviews. The results demonstrated that under high consensus condition, a negative review of the foreign brand led highly ethnocentric consumers’ brand attitudes to deteriorate compared to a negative review of the domestic brand. Contrarily, no such difference emerged for less ethnocentric consumers. Under low consensus condition, both highly and less ethnocentric consumers did not show different patterns of attitude change.
Attacking or Self-Promoting? The Impact of Political Advertising on Candidate Evaluation and the Likelihood of Voting • Yonghwan Kim, University of Texas at Austin; Hsuan-Ting Chen, University of Texas at Austin • This experimental study examines whether negative advertising is effective for candidates, especially for challengers, and investigates the influence of issue relevance in negative political advertising. Results indicate that when advertising sponsored by a challenger was perceived as negative, individuals’ likelihood of voting for that candidate decreased.
Attribute-Goal Framing and Gain-Loss Framing Effects in DTC HPV Vaccine Drug Advertising • Kenneth Kim, University of Florida • The present study attempts to explore the interactive effect of gain-loss framing domain with the attribute-goal framing tactic on the persuasive outcomes associated with DTC HPV vaccine drug advertising. An experiment was designed with a 2 (framing tactic: attribute versus goal framing) × 2 (framing domain: gain versus loss framing) between-subjects design, exploring the interactive effects of framing tactic and framing domain on the consumer’s attitude toward HPV vaccination prescription drug, DTC-promoted behavior intentions.
Why People Pass Along Online Video Ads: from the Perspective of the Theory of Reasoned Action • Joonghwa Lee, University of Missouri; Chang Dae Ham, University of Missouri at Columbia; Mikyoung Kim, Michigan State University • This study employed the Theory of Reasoned Action to explore factors influencing consumers’ intention to pass along online video ads. Structural equation modeling test results indicated that attitude and subjective norm positively influenced intention. Among six expected outcomes (pleasure, affection, inclusion, escape, relaxation, and control) identified using the interpersonal communication motives (ICM) scale, only pleasure and escape had positive impacts on attitude. Finally, normative beliefs had positive influences on subjective norm. Implications are also discussed.
The Image of African-American Females in Advertising: A Content Analysis of African-American Magazines in 2007 • Mia Long, The University of Alabama; Cynthia Nichols, The University of Alabama; Creshema Murray, The University of Alabama; Terra Moody, University of Alabama • Throughout the years, the image of the African-American in advertising has changed from subservient roles to those of various occupations. The present study sought to examine the representation and portrayal of the African-American female in magazine advertising. Researchers analyzed advertisements in Ebony, Essence, Vibe, and XXL magazine for the frequency of African-American females and the presentation of African-American females in terms of status, occupation, setting, interaction, and sexual and family roles.
National vs. Local: The Representation of African-Americans in Advertising in The New York Times and The Advocate • Pavel Mrazek, Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge/Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic • African-Americans are present in media and advertising more than ever before. However, the frequency and quality of their representation varies among different media outlets. This study investigates how blacks are represented in newspaper advertisements compared to the white majority. The main focus is placed on the comparison between the representation of African-Americans in advertising in a national newspaper (The New York Times) and a local newspaper from a state with high black population (The Advocate).
Impact of Ad Appeal and Brand Familiarity on the Attitude toward Brand and Advertising • Eun Soo Rhee, University of Florida • Previous studies have yielded conflicting findings regarding the effects of ad appeal and brand familiarity on attitudes toward the ad and the brand. Some studies found that familiar brands produced favorable brand attitudes while others found that unfamiliar brands produced favorable brand attitudes. Therefore, this study attempts to solve the reasons for conflicting findings. Specifically, this study focuses on the interaction between ad appeal and brand familiarity.
The Role of Self Esteem and Self Construal in Effects of Celebrity Endorsement • Nam-Hyun Um, The University of Texas at Austin • The present study is an initial effort to explore how self-esteem (low vs. high) and self-construals (independent vs. interdependent) influence the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement. Until now, little has been known about the psychological function of self-esteem and self-construals. The author suggests that self-esteem and self-construal play a decisive role in the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement.
If the shoe fits: Strategic uses of spokesmodels in magazine shoe ads • Lisa Wortman, University of Massachusetts-Amherst • Marketers strategically place spokesmodels in magazine advertising to appeal to consumer groups such as the readers of women’s, men’s, and teen girl magazines. Relying on a content analysis of shoe advertisements published in five magazine titles from April 2006 to March 2007, ads in women’s fashion and beauty magazines were found to rely most heavily on spokesmodels when compared to teen fashion and beauty titles, and men’s sports and fitness titles.
The Role of Presence in Anaglyph 3-D Advertising on Consumer Evaluations • Mark Yi-Cheon Yim, University of Texas at Austin • In order to avoid the reduced uses as a major advertising tool, traditional media are struggling to evolve themselves by adopting new formats of advertising based on technological or technical advancements. The current study introduces anaglyph three dimensional (3-D) magazine advertising that allows ad viewers to sense the true depth of objects. We investigated the impact of this new format of advertising on attitude toward ad, brand, and, purchase intention via entertainment and information routes.