Advertising Division
RESEARCH
Are Product Placements Too Subtle to Persuade? Proposing Strength of Association as a Measure of Effectivess • Anna V. Andriasova and Carson B Wagner, University of Texas at Austin • Perhaps due to product placements’ subtlety, studies have been unable to demonstrate changes in self-reported attitudes. However, ad research suggests placements may favorably persuade viewers less consciously and change product-related strengths of association. To test this hypothesis, a two-condition between-participantsps experiment (N=43) was run comparing SOAs of those who watched a placement to those of a control. Findings show that placements can change SOA, and viewers’ SOAs were predicted by their character and program responses.
Rich Media, Poor Media: The Impact of Audio/Video vs. Text/Picture Testimonial Ads on Browsers’ Evaluations of Commercial Web Sites and Online Products • Osei Appiah, Ohio State University • There has been some debate among advertisers concerning the practicality, necessity, and effectiveness of using multimedia on Internet Web sites. Given most companies have been slow to use multimedia features on their site, it seemed worthwhile to test whether this behavior is warranted by testing the impact of multimedia ads on a commercial Web site. In particular, this study attempted to test whether browsers’ responses to multimedia like audio/video testimonial ads on a commercial Web site would significantly differ from their responses to either a commercial Web site with text/picture testimonials or a commercial web site with no testimonials. The findings indicated that Internet browsers were more likely to believe a site was targeting them, rate a site favorably, and more likely to express a desire to purchase the product when the site contained audio/video testimonials than they were when the site contained either text/picture testimonials or no testimonials.
From Fabulously Entertaining to Freakishly Annoying: Consumer Responses to Six Online Advertising Formats • Kelli S. Burns, Elon University; and Richard J. Lutz, University of Florida • This study gathered descriptive data on the perceptual antecedents of attitudes toward six online advertising formats and tested the ability of perceptions to predict attitude toward the format (Aformat) using a national survey of 1,075 adults. The data supported the three hypotheses. Web users possess significantly different attitudes across formats. Users hold a varied combination of perceptions about each format. Furthermore, the three perceptions of entertainment, annoyance, and information have a significant impact on Aformat.
Sex in Magazine Advertising: 1983 to 2003 • Courtney Carpenter and Tom Reichert, University of Alabama • Magazine advertisements from 2003 were content analyzed as a partial replication of a study that assessed sex in advertising in 1983 and 1993. As watchdog groups continue to be more vocal concerning indecency in advertising, and media in general, it is important to assess the state of sex in advertising since 1993. Overall, the findings indicate that female and male models are no more likely to be explicitly dressed, or engaged in sexual contact, from 1993 to 2003, despite overall increases from 1983 to 2003. In addition, sexual content continues to be more explicit and prevalent in women’s and men’s magazines. In 2003, for instance, 78% of women in men’s magazine were sexually attired.
Sensation Seeking Targeting and Fear Appeal of Anti-Smoking Public service Announcement Messages for Young Adults • Youjin Choi, University of Florida; Glen T. Cameron, University of Missouri; Glenn Leshner, University of Missouri; and Michael T. Stephenson, Texas A&M University • High sensation value messages, and high fear appeal based on threat messages are used to prevent high sensation seekers from committing risky behavior because high arousal potential of high sensation value/threat messages may satisfy their need for intense stimulation. Through experiments with young adults, this study examined moderating effects of sensation seeking on the influence of anti-smoking public service announcements on information processing and attitudes toward the messages. There was no differential effect of sensation seeking on information processing and attitudes to the different levels of message sensation value/threat. Regardless of sensation seeking level of the research participants, high sensation value/threat messages were effective than low sensation value/threat messages.
Affective and Cognitive Effect of Humor in Advertisement: Role of Brand Familiarity • Hwiman Chung, New Mexico State University; and Xinshu Zhao, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Although the effects of the humorous ad have been a popular topic among advertising scholars, results have been mixed. This study also tried to understand the effects of humorous advertisement, especially on consumers’ attitude, memory and cognitive responses. 1n particular, this study tried to understand the effect of brand familiarity on humor effects. It was hypothesized that the consumer’s attitude and cognitive responses will be moderated by brand familiarity. Study results support that brand familiarity moderates the effects of humorous advertisement in terms of attitude and cognitive responses.
Ad Skipping and satisfaction among TiVo users by length of ownership • Douglas A. Ferguson, College of Charleston; and Elizabeth M. Perse, University of Delaware • A national sample of 61 DVR users completed an online survey that measured length of ownership, viewing satisfaction, and attitudes toward DVR functions. When compared to earlier samples totaling 198 users, DVR owners continued to report watching television live and recorded, with more enjoyment and greater control. Satisfaction remains a significant predictor of ad-skipping but the novelty factor may be mitigating. Length of ownership is associated with a small decline in ad-skipping behavior.
Who? Sees what products? In which content? And under what conditions? A Broader Product Placement Framework • Tracey Leigh Fisher and Carson B Wagner, University of Texas at Austin • Researchers have developed various typologies for studying product placement effects, but none may be sufficiently broad so as to account for all meaningful variations in placements, their reception by different viewers in different situations, and the outcomes of viewing. The present essay proposes a more comprehensive framework aimed at overcoming such limitations — and it reviews and situates prior placement research accordingly — in order to provide a helpful guide for the study of placement effectiveness.
Black Female and Black Male Prototypes: How Primetime Network Television Commercials Force Black Characters into the Cultural Mainstream • Dennis Ganahl, Sara Baker Netzley, William Hoon and Kwangok Kim, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale • This content analysis examined 84 hours of primetime television in 2000 to determine what prototypical – or ideal – images of Black men and Black women were presented in commercials. The study found a prototype of tall, dark, and outgoing Black men, and fair, petite, and quiet Black women. Many of the ethnic Black hairstyles, clothing, and speech patterns have been exchanged in favor of the predominant mainstream culture. In addition, a “pecking order” in the commercials emerged, starting with White men, and moving down to White women, Black men and Black women.
The conceptual overlap in promotion between marketing and marketing communications: Does it extend to an overlap in research? • Brian K. Hensel, University of Missouri • This study examined the extent to which “marketing communications” journals and general marketing journals cited each other. It found the greatest degree of interdisciplinary citation to be between selected marketing journals and a prominent advertising journal. The advertising journal cited (and was cited within) marketing journals to a much greater degree than it cited (and was cited within) selected mass communication and public relations journals. The data suggest that advertising may conceive itself as more within a marketing paradigm than a communications paradigm. Public relations research, on the other hand, was found to be isolated from both marketing and advertising research. Potential implications of the degree of interdisciplinary citation between research in marketing, advertising, and public relations are described and discussed.
News Bias and Advertising: Consumer and Media Professional Perceptions of Rub Off Effects • Jisu Huh, Denise E. DeLorme, Sarah M. Smith and Leonard Reid, University of Georgia • This paper determines if consumers and media professionals perceive bias in news; documents if those perceptions are harmful to advertising and if negative perceptions of advertising are harmful to news; explores perceptual differences based on predispositions and demographics; and compares consumers’ and media professionals’ perceptions. Survey results indicate that professionals view news quality more favorably and perceive less bias than consumers; consumers are neutral but professionals disagree that news bias is harmful to advertising; and predictors of consumer perceptions of bias rub off effects differ from those of professionals.
Quarter Position Effect during Super Bowl Broadcast: How adverting effectiveness changes as a game goes on • Yong-Ick Jeong, Koang-Hyub Kim and Xinshu Zhao, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • The primary goals of this study are to investigate the ad effectiveness originating from placing ads in different game segments and to suggest marketing implications based on these game segment position effects, especially in media planning strategy. The primacy effects were observed from the results. The brands advertised in earlier quarters are more remembered than those in later quarter. However, ad liking is not related with the quarter based position. Marketing implications for the results are discussed.
Exploring Culture’s Influence on Standardization Dynamics of Creative Strategy and Execution in International Advertising • Jing Jiang and Ran Wei, University of South Carolina • The dynamic relationship between the degree of standardization in creative strategy and standardization of execution was modeled and tested in this study using Nokia advertisements from two culturally different countries, the United States and China. Results show that the International Branding Strategy characterizes Nokia’s advertising campaigns -— standardized in creative strategy, but localized in execution in each culturally different market. More important, this study examines the influence of culture separately on the degree of standardization of creative strategy and of execution. Culture seems to have a greater impact on executions than that on creative strategies. These results have practical implications for international advertisers: It is profitable to develop a unified single creative strategy to be employed on a global scale as long as they take culture into account in executions. The more culturally different the target market is from the home country, the more localized the executions should be.
Celebrity Product Incongruence and the Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsement • Jung-Gyo Lee, University of North Florida; and Esther Thorson, University of Missouri at Columbia • The present study examined how different degrees of celebrity-product congruence influence the persuasiveness of celebrity endorsements. The schema-congruity framework suggested by Mandler provides the theoretical basis for suggesting that a moderate mismatch between a celebrity’s image and a product’s image would produce more favorable responses to advertisements than would either a complete match or an extreme mismatch. This study also looked at how consumer characteristics, namely an individual’s own levels of enduring involvement with a product category, moderate schema (in)congruity effects. Two experiments that used different types of match-up factors, physical attractiveness and expertise of a celebrity endorser, corroborated the inverted U-shaped relationship between schema congruity and affective responses.
Food for Thought: A Content Analysis of Food Advertising during Prime-Time Television • Wei-Na Lee, Eliana Shiao Tseng and Sejung Marina Choi, University of Texas at Austin • Today almost two-thirds of Americans are classified as overweight. While there are several known causes of obesity, food adversity on television has received a significant amount of criticism for its role in fueling the rise in obesity. The study reported in this paper examined the amount and general characteristics of food advertising and the actual nutritional content of the products advertised during prime-time programming on major networks. Results show that food advertising composed one quarter of the overall advertising during prime-time television. In general, food products advertised in prime-time television were unhealthy according to their actual nutritional content. Meanwhile, not surprisingly, the advertising messages for these products tended to employ taste/flavor/smell as the key promotional appeal instead of nutritional value. Implications of observations made in this study and suggestions for future research are provided.
Word-of-Mouth Advertising: A 50 Year Review and Two Theoretical Models for an Online Chatting Context • Gergely Nyilasy, University of Georgia • The purpose of this study is to investigate the conceptual and theoretical foundations of word-of-mouth (WOM) advertising and to propose two theories of online WOM in a chatting context. First, the extensive literature is reviewed and discussed within an integrative framework. Online WOM is then contrasted with offline conceptualizations, and a new definition for online WOM is offered. Utilizing attribution theory and theories of computer-mediated communication, two models of online WOM are proposed for an online chatting context.
Why McDonald Dropped Kobe Bryant: The Third-Person Effect of Celebrity Endorsers’ Negative Information from Advertisers’ Perspectives • Hye-Jin Paek, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Byoungkwan Lee, Michigan State University; Bong-Chul Kim, Chosun University and Charles T. Salmon Michigan State University • This study surveys advertisers to examine how their perception bias leads to their willingness to withdraw ads that feature a celebrity endorser tainted by a negative personal image. Based on the theoretical framework of “third person effects,” the results show that advertisers perceive greater effects of a celebrity endorser’s negative information on other advertisers and on consumers than on themselves. However, total effects rather than a self-other perceptual gap predicted the dependent variable. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
A Content Analysis of Content Analysis Research Published in Advertising Journals • Pumsoon Park, Kyoo-Hoon Han, Yongjun Sung, Hyeonjin Soh, University of Georgia • Content analysis is the fastest-growing research method in mass communication research. The present study investigates how and how much content analysis has been utilized in advertising research by reviewing all content analysis studies published in three major advertising journals from 1960 to 2002: Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research and Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising. Our results conclude that content analysis appeared in significant proportions in the three major advertising journals and it is becoming more popular among advertising researchers across decades and that content analysis is mostly used to describe tendencies or characteristics rather than to explain causal relationships or test theories.
Consumers’ Use of Sponsorship Knowledge in an Internet Context: Antecedents and Consequences • Shelly Rodgers, University of Missouri at Columbia • The purpose of this research was to test a model of persuasion knowledge that identifies two antecedents and two consequences of sponsorship knowledge, a specific type of persuasion knowledge. A survey method was employed using a group of students and non-student adults. The results indicated that personal and professional experience, the antecedents, predicted persuasion knowledge. Persuasion knowledge, in turn, influenced perceived motives of the persuasion agent, which subsequently mediated perceptions of the agent. The findings are congruent with the Persuasion Knowledge Model and support the position that persuasion knowledge attainment and use are important factors in consumer behavior research.
The Petticoat Influence: The History And Agency Of Women In The Advertising Profession, 1880-1917 • Juliann Sivulka • This historical study examines how gender has operated in the development of the advertising profession from 1880-1917, but also considers the ways business has intervened in and shaped the construction of gender in American history. Women were the main consumers and carried the most decision-making power in households concerning consumer-product goods and services. Therefore it became critical that women have a voice that becomes recognized, listened to, and heard in the industry that tried to influence the decisions female consumers made. Paradoxically, women capitalized on gender conventions to enter the male-dominated world of advertising, providing the feminine viewpoint to sell products to the women’s market.
Changing the Nature of Unreasoned Actions: A Test of the Anti-Drug Ad Viewing Styles Hypothesis • Carson B. Wgner, University of Texas at Austin • Anti-drug ad research has shown it is more difficult to establish strength of association (SOA) change as compared to changing self-reported attitudes, perhaps because the latter measures exaggerate effectiveness. Findings suggest that viewing anti-drug ads passively may result in SOA change, but the effect has not been demonstrated. To test this hypothesis, a two-condition between-participants experiment (N= 35) was run comparing SOAs of those who watched ads peripherally to those of a control group.
The Impact of Content Class on Reconciliation of Evaluative Inconsistencies • Alex Wang, University of Connecticut • This study examines the effect of evaluative inconsistency in different content classes on the strength of consumers’ trust, believability, information diagnosticity, and attitude toward the information, as manifested in its ability to predict purchase intention. The results suggest that an apposing resolution of IMC strategy has to do with the likelihood of inconsistency reconciliation, that is, whether consumers are willing to pay greater cognitive effort to process inconsistencies with the goal of obtaining better information diagnosticity perceived in different content classes.
The Advertising Industry in Wartime: How Advertising During the Iraq War Was Framed in Advertising Industry Publications and Major National Newspapers • Jan LeBlanc Wicks and Boubacar Souley, University of Arkansas • Advertisers learned after September 11 that ads could suddenly become inappropriate when airing next to coverage of the attacks. This study examines how advertisers and advertising agencies framed or explained their Iraq War plans and activities to avoid complaints. The frames included the Distance frame whereby advertisers separated ads from war coverage and the Normalcy frame explaining why normal advertising activities should continue. The analysis suggests coverage was pro-industry and had few divergent viewpoints.
A Cross-Cultural Study Between American and Chinese College Students Regarding Television Viewing, Materialism, Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Advertising • Hongwei Yang and Dennis J. Ganahl, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale • A survey of 566 college students was conducted in a U.S. Midwestern public university and another survey of 312 college students was conducted in four Chinese universities to examine the relationships among television viewing, materialism, general beliefs about advertising and attitude toward television commercials. The surveys yielded surprisingly similar results. Television viewing was significantly correlated with materialism in both the United States and China. This finding suggests that television viewing cultivates college students’ materialistic values in different cultural settings.
PF&R
“Why Do They Hate Us?” International Attitudes Toward America, American Brands and Advertising • Jami A. Fullerton, Oklahoma State University • This study attempts to unravel the complex issues surrounding President Bush’s question after 9/11 — “Why do they hate us?” by exploring international student attitudes toward “all things” American. A survey of 105 international students from various countries who were enrolled at Regents College in London, England in July 2003 was conducted to measure attitudes toward America, U.S. brands, media and advertising. The survey findings are analyzed herein to discover relationships between the measured attitudes and to determine if certain characteristics among international students make them more likely to “hate us.”
Selling Truth: How Nike’s Advertising to Women Accomplished the “Impossible” • Jean M. Grow and Joyce M. Wolburg, Marquette University • This study traces the evolution of three “big ideas” in Nike’s advertising to women from 1990 to 2000: empowerment, entitlement, and emphasis on product. It also reveals the process from which the ads were created and the constraints upon that process from the agency creative team’s perspective. It is the story of how the creative team used advertising to meet the marketing goals of the Nike brand by challenging social norms that define the role of women.
Behind the smile: Reading Cultural Values in Thai Advertising • Chompunuch Punyapiroje, Burapha University; and Margaret Morrison, University of Tennessee at Knoxville • This study investigates how Thai national cultural values are expressed in advertising messages. Three research questions are posed: Are values expressed in the message strategies of Thai commercials? If yes, how are these values presented in Thai commercials?; and, What relationship exists between message strategies and product categories? 225 Thai commercials were examined. Results suggest any investigation of Thai values must consider factors such as western values, economic situations, or social phenomenon influencing Thai society.
A is for Apple, B is for Boy and C is for Coke, Channel One and Commercialism: A Critical Assessment of the Historical Roots and Modern Developments of Advertising in Schools • Inger L. Stole and Rebecca Livesay, University of Illinois at Urbana at Champaign • During the past two decades, the commercialization of U.S. education has emerged as a frequently debated issue. This paper traces the history of advertising from its first occurrence in the 1920s to its modern day manifestations. In addition to exploring how and why advertising entered the nation’s classrooms, and discuss some of the initial reactions to this form of educational material, the paper also explores the multitude and magnitude of advertising in schools that has taken place since the 1980s and addresses some of the ethical concerns associated with these developments.
TEACHING
Addressing Variant Learning Styles for Advertising and Public Relations Students • Joel Geske, Iowa State University • Learning styles serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment. The three modalities are Visual, Auditory or Haptic. Students in advertising and public relations (n=107) indicate a strong preference for haptic learning with almost no support for the auditory style — a predominant delivery method in college courses. Findings for these students are quite different from the general population. Two case study activities for haptic learning are included.
The Effect of Educational Background as Antecedent on the Job Satisfaction of Advertising Creatives • Thomas Hixson, University of Wisconsin at Whitewater; and Stephen Banning, Louisiana State University • This study examined the job satisfaction of advertising creatives, focusing on educational background as a possible cause for higher job satisfaction. It also examined the opinions of professionals in the field regarding their opinion of the most practical method of career training. Some academics have called for more liberal arts education for students in advertising as opposed to a strict focus on advertising. The survey was administered online. American Advertising Federation advertising creatives were contacted with information regarding the survey. One-hundred sixty one participants responded. While the advertising creatives had taken a variety of majors in school, the most common recommendation regarding advertising education was for straight advertising or Integrated Marketing Communication. Educational background appeared to have no effect on job satisfaction.
Integration of Advertising and Public Relations Curricula: A 2004 Status Report of Educator Perceptions • Phyllis V. Larsen, University of Nebraska at Lincoln; and Maria E. Len-Rios, University of Kansas • The communication environment has changed significantly in the last two decades. While many advertising and public relations professionals embrace a more integrated approach to communication, it is not clear how educators are responding. This study explored the current status of curriculum integration from the perspective of the educator. The most striking finding is a strong association between educator attitudes toward integration and the current level of integration at their institutions.
Teaching the Undergraduate Research Course for Advertising Majors: Course Content and Key Challenges • Brett Robbs and Kendra Gale, University of Colorado • Based on a survey of faculty teaching an undergraduate research course to advertising majors, this paper identifies desired outcomes and content priorities of those currently teaching the research course. Comparisons are made between courses designed for a range of majors and those designed specifically for advertising majors. Specific teaching challenges posed by this course are also discussed. Potential options for fine tuning the approach to this course are suggested.
STUDENT
The Portrayal of Men, Women and Children in Parents Magazine Advertisements: 2000 and 2003 • Brooke Clawson and Elizabeth Stohlton, Brigham Young University • A content analysis of full-page advertisements in the 2000 and 2003 editions of Parents magazine was conducted. The advertisements were analyzed according to gender, the representation of adults and children, race, and the adult’s interaction and physical contact with the children. After the data was coded, SPSS was used to interpret the data. The data shows that men are underrepresented in magazine advertisements compared to women. When represented in ads, men were portrayed in stereotypical roles, and men were rarely shown alone with children. When interaction between men and children is portrayed, the interaction is friendly. The majority of the ads represent White men, women and children, and minorities are underrepresented.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: A Brand Development Model for Advertising? • Daniel Marshall Haygood, University of Tennessee • No abstract available.
College Students’ Uses & Gratifications of Advertising • Jaime A Marshall, University of Central Florida • Employing Uses & Gratifications theory, this survey of 297 undergraduates sought to determine the primary reason why college students use the Internet, newspaper, radio, television and magazines for the purpose of understanding how advertising gratifies those needs. This study found that college students primarily use the Internet and newspapers for informational purposes while television, magazines and radio are utilized largely for entertainment. Moreover, respondents were more likely to pay attention to advertisements on mediums with a ritualized (entertainment) orientation rather than an instrumental (informational) orientation.
Information Processing Differences Between Internet and Magazine Advertisements Moderated by Selective Exposure • Jensen Moore, University of Missouri-Columbia • The current study proposes that selective exposure to advertising communications results in information processing differences between traditional and new media. Specifically, it examines information processing differences between magazine and Internet advertisements. This study uses a between-subjects experimental method to examine information processing differences moderated by selective exposure. Findings indicated higher selective exposure displayed when participants viewed online advertisements moderated recall and recognition differences between the two media. Implications for advertisers are discussed.
A Comparison of the Effects of Unsolicited E-mail and Postal Direct Mail on Consumer Advertising Evaluations • Mariko Morimoto and Susan Chang, Michigan State University • Using Psychological Reactance as the framework, this study sought to understand consumer attitudes towards two major direct marketing methods, unsolicited commercial e-mail (spam) and postal direct mail – in particular, perceptions of advertising intrusiveness, loss of control, and irritation. The results of this survey study indicated that in comparison, unsolicited e-mails were perceived as more intrusive and irritating than postal direct mail. In addition, participants did not indicate that they felt a loss of control regarding spam.
Attitude toward the Extension Ad: The Influence of Attitude toward the Parent Brand and Perceived Congruity • Xiaoli Nan, University of Minnesota • This paper investigates the impact of two factors on consumers’ attitudes toward the ad for a brand extension: attitude toward the parent brand and perceived congruity between the brand extension and the parent brand. Results of an experiment employing 153 participants indicate that attitude toward the extension ad is more positive when attitude toward the parent brand is favorable (vs. unfavorable). In addition, attitude toward the extension ad is more positive when the extension is congruent (vs. incongruent) with the parent brand. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Where Does Political Speech End and Commercial Speech Begin?: A Re-Visit of Kasky v. Nike, Inc. • Yongjun Sung and Federico de Gregorio, University of Georgia • Kasky v. Nike, Inc. raises First Amendment issues of great importance to American corporations. The main issue of this case is whether speech by Nike in denying allegations about the “sweat shop” conditions in its overseas labor practice is commercial or noncommercial speech. The California Supreme court has ruled Nike’s speech to be “commercial speech,” thus not entitled to the same degree of protection as political speech under the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court, which had agreed to review the case, decided not to review the California court decision. This paper argues that the California Supreme Court ruling is unconstitutional because it would allow anyone to sue a company on the grounds that corporate statements about their business – not their products – may be false and misleading advertising.
SPECIAL TOPICS
Granting the Permission to Believe in Zionism: A Non-Traditional Analysis of the Strategy and Execution of a Zionist Poster Posted in Holocaust Survivor Camps in 1946 • Jason Berger, Kansas City, Missouri • With the continued violence in the Middle East between Palestinian and Israeli, we should use non-conventional research and analysis to understand the conflict. This paper is an analysis of a Zionist poster posted in Holocaust survivor camps in Western Europe. The poster begged in Yiddish the refugees to sit tight, not to worry, there will be a Jewish state in Palestine. The paper consists of two panels. On the left side, we see a dark, forbidden, impenetrable city. A lifeless refugee is being denied entry. In contrast, we see on the right side a refugee proudly entering the map of Palestine using the traditional “land of milk and honey” imagery. But there is more than meets the eye. Through using a host of advertising creativity models and stimulators along with a more literate and Jewish mystical form of analysis, this paper argues that the poster was indeed complex and, in essence, illustrated quite a sophisticated advertising strategy, creativity, and tactic which met the needs of the target.
Where Does Advertising End and Free Speech Begin?: A Case Study Analysis of the Troubling Nike v. Kasky Lawsuit • Anne Golden, University of Utah • Often, when a business entity is embroiled in a controversial issue, it pursues various strategies when communicating with the public. A business can try a defensive advertising campaign, paid advertorials, letters to the editor, or press releases while defending itself against a media onslaught. However, a recent Supreme Court decision has extended the false advertising laws in California so that now these laws apply, not only to paid advertisements, but also to other forms of communication with the media. This article discusses the ramifications of this decision to advertisers seeking to dialogue with media in the public sphere.
Branding at a Small Advertising Agency: A Big Agency Trapped Inside a Small Agency’s Body? • Daniel Marshall Haygood, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • No abstract available.
“God Speaks:” A Case Study of a Public Service Campaign • Karen M Lancendorfer and Bonnie B Reece, Michigan State University • Public service campaigns, spanning 60 years and thousands of mass media advertisements, have asked Americans to ‘Say No to Drugs’ and ‘Keep America Beautiful’, along with everything in between. Although these campaigns are often considered important tools in promoting social issues, their efficacy has been hotly debated over the years. A case study of the “God Speaks” public service campaign is offered as an example of a non-traditional campaign that provides insights for future endeavors.