Advertising Division
TEACHING
Service Learning Across the Curriculum: A Collaboration to Promote Smoking Cessation • Jean M. Grow and Joyce M. Wolburg, Marquette University • This paper focuses on how pedagogy, service and scholarship can be combined across the advertising curriculum through service learning, which invigorates collaboration between faculty members, student teams and advertising professionals. The authors demonstrate how service-learning projects integrate curricula (pedagogy) using a community-based client (service), ultimately leading to scholarship and professional outcomes. Specifically, this study analyzes the launch of a service learning based smoking cessation campaign on a mid-west college campus.
Ethical Justification: Too Frequently a “Black Hole” in Advertising Education? • David L. Martinson, Florida International University-North Miami • Ethics involves making judgments, judgments about good and bad, right and wrong. Advertising practitioners have long struggled in an attempt to balance their responsibilities vis-a-vis persuasive communication efforts on behalf of clients against their responsibilities to be genuinely truthful in regard to impacted third parties.
Advertising Professionals in the Classroom: Comparing Electronic versus In-Person Visits • Jay Newell Iowa State University • Advertising industry experts are invited to speak in professional programs on an on-going basis. However, there is scant research to establish the pedagogical advantages of guest experts in the classroom, and little investigation into the effectiveness of new technology such as videoconferencing to effectively bridge the distance between media company offices and university classrooms. This exploratory research, using elaboration-likelihood model factors, tracks the acceptance of 10 guest speakers by students (N=86) in multiple advertising courses over 3 semesters.
Student Teams as Therapy Groups How progress and conflict follow strikingly similar patterns. • Tom Weir, Roy Kelsey, and Susan Weir, Oklahoma State University • This study attempts to draw comparisons between college students working closely in a team environment with patterns of interaction in psychotherapy groups. The literature indicates similarities in the process of both types of groups. Data is gathered from a student group using the GCQ (short form) (MacKinzie, 1983). Important similarities are found between the scores of the student group and those demonstrated for therapy groups, indicating that the group learning process involves similar fundamental stages.
RESEARCH
Advertising and Audience Offense: The Effects of Media Type and Potentially Offensive Products, Services and Themes • Frank K. Beard, University of Oklahoma • A growing research literature suggests when and why audiences will be offended by advertisements. The content analysis reported in this paper tests hypotheses derived from the literature using actual consumer complaints about real advertisements. Findings supported four of the study’s five hypotheses, supporting conclusions that audience members are more likely to be offended by offensive themes than the products, services or ideas advertised; some themes are predictably more offensive than others.
Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising for Stigmatized Illnesses • Soontae An and Hyun Seung Jin, Kansas State University • This study examined the effects of direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising on consumers’ perceptions toward stigmatized illnesses, erectile dysfunction and overactive bladder. Telephone interviews were conducted to assess individuals’ media consumption level, attention to DTC ads, perceived prevalence of erectile dysfunction and overactive bladder, and attitudes toward these stigmatized illnesses. The results showed that those with high DTC ad attention tended to estimate the likelihood of having those illnesses high, and the heightened perceived prevalence led to less stigmatization.
Cancer Ads: A Comparison of Advertising Strategies in Black vs. Mainstream Newspapers • Jiyang Bae, Crystal Y. Lumpkins, Shelly Rodgers, Glen Cameron, University of Missouri-Columbia, Doug Luke, and Matthew Kreuter, St. Louis University • The primary purpose of this study was to compare cancer-related ads in Black vs. mainstream newspapers to determine whether there were differences in advertising strategies used. Advertising strategies that were examined included sociocultural factors (collectivism, religiosity and racial pride), appeal (emotional, informational), referral to resources (website, 800 number, brochure), and angle (local, regional, national). The method was a content analysis of 24 Black and 12 Mainstream newspapers, randomly selected from 24 U.S. cities.
Examining the Source Element at the Interpersonal Level: A Case Study of the Body Donation Campaign in Taiwan • Hao-Chieh Chang, Chinese University of Hong Kong • This study examines the source strategies employed in the body donation campaign in Taiwan. Typical studies on the source element of campaigns focus on the effects of source qualities on persuasion. Specifically, the “who” and “what” factors were assessed to evaluate the source effect. This study explores how the campaign sources at the interpersonal level deliver the message to the target. In-depth interviews with four interpersonal sources were conducted.
The Effect of Negative Publicity on Consumers’ Brand Evaluations: The Moderating Role of Corporate Advertising • Yoon Yong Cho, and Shelly Rodgers, University of Missouri-Columbia • The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of negative publicity on consumers’ attitudes toward the corporation and its brands. The moderating effect of corporate advertising as a counter strategy for recovering negative image was also examined. The method was an experiment. Negative publicity had a negative impact, and positive publicity had a positive impact on brand and company evaluations. However, negatively primed attitudes toward the company and its brand shifted in a positive direction after being exposed to corporate advertising.
From Big-Five Framework Perspective: Does Online Brand Have Personality? • Hwiman Chung, New Mexico State University And Youngjun Sung, University of Georgia • This paper examines the generalizability of Aaker’ s theoretical framework of the dimensions of brand personality (the five factors of Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication, and Ruggedness) across online brands. In this study, which examined online brand personality dimensions, 308 subjects evaluated three global online brands by using 70 brand personality traits.
A Qualitative Investigation of Older Adults’ Perceptions of the Influence of D.C Advertising on Self and Others • Denise E. DeLorme, University of Central Florida, Jisu Huh, University of Minnesota and Leonard N. Reid, University of Georgia • A series of in-depth interviews was conducted to examine older adults’ perceptions of DTC advertising influence on themselves and others. Results give empirical voice to previous survey findings and provide additional evidence to support the third-person effect in DTC advertising. Older adults do not perceive DTC ad effects on themselves when asked directly, but do indicate behaving in DTC-ad-expected ways in particular situations. They also perceive different types of DTC ad effects on others than on themselves.
The Influence of Movie Genre on Audience Reaction to Product Placement • Steven David Garza and Coy Callison, Texas Tech University • Participants completed measures after viewing movie clips categorized by genre-comedy, drama, and science fiction. The experiment compared brand recall, brand liking, and opinions toward brand placement across genre. Humor research suggests product placements in comedies would be more effective than placements in other genres. Results indicate that comedy does not outrank other genres as a vehicle for product placement. Previous research findings were confirmed in that prominent placements were more successful than subtle placements.
The Third-Person Effect In Controversial Product Advertising • Keith Jensen And Steve Collins, University of Central Florida • This research seeks to determine if there is a third-person effect in the realm of controversial product advertising. Survey participants rated their perceived levels of personal offense to product categories as well as the expected offense levels of other groups of people. The results show a significant third-person effect for five of six product categories where an effect was expected. In the case of advertising for racial extremist groups, a first-person effect existed as predicted.
The Effects of Self-Efficacy Statements in Humorous Anti-Alcohol Abuse Messages Targeting College Students: Who is in Charge? • Moon J. Lee and Myiah Hutchens Hively, Washington State University • This study examined the effects of self-efficacy statements in humorous, positively reinforced anti-alcohol abuse messages. The experiment was a post-test only design with 124 college students. Results indicate that highly rebellious individuals who watched ads with a self-efficacy statement (i.e. You are in control of the situation) indicated lower alcohol expectancies, higher risk perceptions, and higher intentions to change their drinking behavior than those in the non-self-efficacy condition.
Advertising Practitioners’ Opinions on Professional Training and Advertising Programs • Tien-Tsung Lee, Washington State University And William E. Ryan, University of Oregon • This study surveyed some of the most creative minds in advertising, asking them to assess the value of their educations and to share their opinions on a number of related topics. How well did their programs of study prepare them for work in advertising? Where should an advertising program be placed in the academy: journalism and communication departments, business schools, fine arts or design programs? What is the professional and personal value of an advertising degree?
Stoic and Aloof for Eternity: An Analysis of Multiple-Male Images in Men’s Magazine Advertising • Katie McRee and Bryan E. Denham, Clemson University • While existing research provides a wealth of information regarding the portrayal of females in advertising, relatively few studies have focused on images of males. The present research builds on the few studies that do exist, examining multiple-male images (n=291) in advertisements featured in four men’s magazines: Details, Esquire, GQ and Playboy. Content analysis revealed continued imagery of the stereotypical, aloof American cowboy in the context of advertisements, but also provided interesting data on the sexualized nature of male models.
Consumers’ Processing of Interactive Web Sites: The Effects of Motivation, Opportunity, Ability and Comprehension • Wendy Macias University of Georgia • This research is a pilot for a larger scale study of how consumers’ process branded Web site material. An experiment was conducted to test the effect that interactivity level had on comprehension. Additional covariates were tested to better understand the effect that motivation, opportunity and ability have on the processing capacity. The results indicate that, of the three processing variables, motivation (specifically the message attention part of advertising message involvement) had the greatest impact on comprehension.
Advocacy Advertising to Community Stakeholders: Perceptions of Risks, Benefits, and Trust in the Coal Industry • Barbara Miller and Janas Sinclair, North Carolina-Chapel Hill • Community stakeholders, who live where a business or industry is located, are an important audience for advocacy messages about industry benefits and risks. In focus groups, West Virginia residents defined risks and benefits of the local coal industry primarily in terms of community identity.
An Exploratory Study of Young American and Korean Consumers’ Intentions to opt-in to SMS Advertising • Alexander Muk, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Christina Chung, University of Southern Mississippi • The convergence of the Internet and wireless telephony and the fast adoption rate of the mobile phone have combined to present a new platform for advertising. SMS advertising uses push advertising strategy to deliver advertising messages to users’ mobile phones in text formats. It has considerable scope for one to one marketing based on the private and direct nature of the medium and situations of the users.
Is the Fruit Better if More Wasps Eat It: Exploring the Effects of Self-monitoring and Visual and Verbal Message Strategies on Social Approval Appeals • Jun Rong Myers, Soyoen Cho, Sela Sar And Ron Faber, University of Minnesota • This paper investigates the moderating role of self-monitoring and the effects of visual and verbal message strategies in social approval appeals in advertisement. An experimental study was conducted with undergraduate students (N=153) testing the interactive relationship between self-monitoring, verbal claims and visual cues of social approval appeal and persuasion effects. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed relating to advertising research and creative strategy.
The Effects of Consensus between Third-Party Endorsements on Audience Attitude and Behavioral Intent • Alex Wang, University of Connecticut • This study examines the process by which audiences integrate third-party endorsements into their product evaluations and how endorsement consensus affects this process. The results suggest that positive endorsements enhance audiences’ attitudes while audiences’ needs for consensus play a crucial role in determining how audiences will form their behavioral intents. Consensus is important because it determines whether a given product is perceived as meeting or falling short of product evaluations.
Promotion Of Destinations After Disasters: An Experimental Examination Of Communication-Evoked-Imagery Effects • Linda Wang-Stewart, Pacific Lutheran University • In facing the challenge of promoting tourism destinations damaged by disasters, this study was designed to examine the interaction effects of Communication-Evoked Imagery ads and memory. College students (= 116) participated in a 2 (Imagery) X 2 (Memory) X 3 (Countries) X 6 (Orders) within subject experiment. The results indicated significant main effects and interaction effects of imagery and memory congruency. The findings suggested that Communication-Evoked Imagery ads are effective to encourage audience’s information processing, especially in message-memory incongruent conditions.
The Effects of Ethnic identity on Audience’s Evaluation of HIV Public Service Announcements • Xiao Wang, and Laura M. Arpan Florida State University • An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of participants’ ethnic identity in the context of health communication. Results indicate there was a marginally significant interaction effect of black participants’ ethnic identity and source ethnicity on the evaluation of the overall credibility of the spokespersons, but not on the evaluation of public service announcements. No significant interaction effects were found among white participants on either of the dependent variables.
Military Recruitment Advertising: The Effectiveness of Advertising in Persuading Women to Consider the Military as a Career Option • Maura Mollet, And Tom Weir, Oklahoma State University • This study assesses the relative effectiveness of military recruiting advertisements to attract women to the military, and makes use of a combination of Osgood’s congruity theory (1955; in Severin and Tankard, 1988) and Goffman’s (1979) gender roles in advertisements. This study showed no consistent relationship between gender roles in recruiting materials and the likelihood that participants might consider military service, but did reveal interesting relationships among other variables.
The Influence of Humanlike Navigation Interface on Users’ Responses to Internet Advertising • Kenneth C. C. Yang, University of Texas – El Paso • The present study integrates literature from the interface design and Internet advertising effectiveness literature to examine whether a humanlike navigation interface will increase the effectiveness of Internet advertising. The study employs a post-test only with a control group experiment design to examine whether and how a humanlike navigation interface will have effects on users’ responses to Internet advertising.
Cultural Values Reflected in Chinese and American Web Service Advertising • Jie Zhang and Doyle Yoon, University of Oklahoma • This study examines cultural values and information cues as reflected in U.S. and Chinese Web service advertising appeals. Also, the distribution of service categories between the two countries is explored. Content analysis of the 836 service advertisements from 74 selected Chinese and U.S. Websites reveals that collectivism and individualism remain to be the most important cultural constructs differentiating Western cultures from East Asian cultures.
The Role of Involvement and Previous Evaluation in Attractiveness Match-Up Hypothesis • Yanjun Zhao And James Kelly, Southern Illinois University Carbondale • This study concerns the match-up hypothesis that effectiveness of an attractive model in an ad varies in product. This study was the first to consider the potential role of individuals’ previous evaluation and involvement about a product in the interaction between model attractiveness (more vs. less attractive) and product type (perfume v. vacuum) in advertising effectiveness.
The Effect of Fear Appeals in AIDS Prevention Ads on Attention, Interest, Liking and Intent to Adopt Recommended Behavior • Yanjun Zhao And Jyotika Ramaprasad, Southern Illinois University Carbondale • This study examined the influence of fear appeals as well as efficacy and relevance on ad attention, interest, and liking, as well as intent to behave (as per the recommended behavior–using condoms) in AIDS prevention advertisements. Results of a repeated measures experiment showed that fear appeal, efficacy and relevance were significant predictors of participants’ response. In addition, the study also found two interaction effects. Implications for practice in anti-AIDS/HIV advertising and experiment methodology were discussed.
PF&R
Subliminal advertising: A reply to August Bullock’s not-so-secret sales pitch • Sheri Broyles, University of North Texas • On June 11, 2004, August Bullock posted a message on the AdForum listserve touting his new book The Secret Sales Pitch: An Overview of Subliminal Advertising. This posting created a great deal of discussion, proving what a hot topic subliminal advertising continues to be. This paper is a response to that book.
Effects of Gay-Themed Advertising Content on Emotional Response, Attitude Toward the Ad, and Changes in Attitude Toward the Brand • Joe Bob Hester, Rhonda Gibson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • The amount of gay-themed advertising is increasing, and there is much speculation about the effects on consumers, both gay and straight. But there has been very little mpirica1 investigation of the effects on individuals’ attitudes toward the brand advertised or toward the issue of homosexuality.
Are You Talking To Me?: Advertising Content Analysis of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy • Eunsun Lee, Jounghwa Choi and Teresa Mastin, Michigan State University • The study examines advertising strategies that advertisers employ to target gay consumers through mainstream media. A content analysis of commercials placed on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, a gay-themed makeover cable TV show, was conducted. The result showed that advertisers use an implicit approach through gay window advertising and window advertising can be characterized by cues based on the stereotypes of gay consumers.
Celebrity Endorsers and Generation Y: New Insights for Advertisers • Olaf Werder and Stephynie Chapman Perkins – New Mexico • Abstract not available.
SPECIAL TOPICS
The Super Bowl: ‘Tis the Season for Self Promotion • Sue Westcott Alessandri • Abstract not available.
The Great Divide? Defining Multiculturalism and Globalization in Advertising • Frauke Hachtmann and Sloane Signal, University of Nebraska-Lincoln • As we move toward a truly global economy advertising practitioners must be equally comfortable communicating with multicultural audiences in the United States as well as different cultures abroad. The authors propose that communicating to and with global audiences should be seen as an extension of multiculturalism in the United States and not as separate areas of scholarship.
Against Advertising: Humorous Critiques in The Wall Street Journal Cartoons • Michael Maynard Temple University • The editorial page cartoon, when not overtly political, offers a compelling site for researching how a newspaper airs critiques of advertising through humor. Using the release mechanism theory of humor, this study content analyzes 2,959 Pepper… and Salt cartoons from the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal and finds 82 cartoons targeting advertising.
Got Rights? PETA Says No: Nonprofit Issue Advertising and Celebrity Right of Publicity • Rachel Mersey, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill • This research examines the construct of commercial use as applied in right of publicity and First Amendment commercial speech cases to determine whether nonprofit issue advertising campaigns, such as PETA’s featuring former President Ronald Reagan and the tagline: “Win one for the Gipper: Animal fats DOUBLE your risk of Alzheimer’s,” would qualify either as a commercial use or for constitutional protection of the highest order, concluding that philosophical-based advertising is fully protected by the First Amendment.
From Subservient Chickens to Brawny Men: A Comparison of Viral Advertising to Television Advertising • Lance Porter and Guy Golan, Louisiana State University • The diffusion of the Internet into American homes along with the growing penetration of high speed Internet via cable and satellite have changed the very nature of online advertising. The current study focuses on one of the most recent online advertising phenomenon -viral advertising. The study provides an historical account of the viral marketing, provides a definition for viral advertising and then moves on to provide what may be the first empirical investigation of viral ads.
Advertising and the Pluralism of Indonesian Middle Class Identity: the Global-Local Nexus in Tempo Magazine • Janet Steele, George Washington University • An examination of advertising in Tempo magazine can offer clues to the global-local nexus in a developing country. Although Tempo’s readers are believed to be from the middle class, the advertising images are hardly monolithic. Some advertisements put being “Western” in the forefront, while others celebrate the local – suggesting the pluralism of middle class aspirations, and raising doubts about the notion of a capitalist “mono-culture.”
Outside the Box, Inside the Circle: Using the Six-Segment Strategy Wheel To Predict the Direction of Change in Message Strategies • Ronald Taylor, University of Tennessee • This research challenges the popular claim-“breakthrough creative”– made by advertisers and agencies that often accompany announcements of changes in message strategies. Based on analysis of 50 announced changes in strategy, this paper suggests that the direction of change in message strategy is predictable. Strategies are predictable because advertisers and their agencies tend to choose new strategies from a rather narrow range of many possible message strategies.
Celebrity Endorsers And Generation Y: New Insights For Advertisers • Olaf Werder and Stephanie C. Perkins, University of New Mexico • Generation Y has been found to be cynical toward campaigns using celebrities. The present study uses a case study design to document how college-age members of this cohort describe in their own words their beliefs about celebrity endorsers. The results of the study indicate that the fit and meaning transfer between celebrity image and ideal self-image are important for a Gen Y-oriented campaign. Findings and implications for advertising theorists and practitioners are discussed.
Content Comparison of Presidential Election Campaigns: Functional Approach to the Candidate’s and their Party’s Web sites and TV Spots • Doyle Yoon and Joseph Seth, University Of Oklahoma • This study attempted to examine how two presidential election camps utilize two media, television and the Internet, in 2000 and 2004 presidential election campaigns. Content analysis with both candidates’ and their parties’ television spots and Web sites of the 2000 and 2004 presidential election campaigns were conducted to examine the role of the Internet as a new tool for political campaigns, compared to television spots.
The Genealogy of an Icon • Margaret Young, Bradley University • Phoebe Snow was the first feminine iconic merchandising supermodel; the unrecognized prototype for all Ronald McDonalds to come. Her quiet demeanor, “lost in thought”, elegant image inspired poets, playwrights, marriage proposals, fashion designers, women and men young and old. Though she was not human in a flesh blood format, she was real. This paper traces her 70+ years through America pop culture.
STUDENT PAPERS
Direct-To-Consumer Television Advertisements Of Prescription Drugs And Their Impact On Physician Prescription-Writing Tendencies • Jocelyn Kay Albertson, Iowa State University • This study explores the impact of direct-to-consumer television prescription drug advertisements on Iowa physicians’ attitudes toward drug products and their tendency to prescribe those products. Using the tenets of diffusion of innovations theory and the two-step flow hypothesis, the findings of this survey indicate that physicians are not in favor of televised DTC advertising of prescription products and that their negative attitudes are important contributors to their tendencies to prescribe products shown in the ads.
Content Analysis of Automotive Company Websites as Internet Advertising: A Cross-Cultural Study • Chan-pyo Hong, Youngrak Park and Kenneth Kim, Florida State University • A comparative content analysis was conducted on a total of 34 automotive company websites targeting Korean and US consumers in order to investigate the current contents (as attitude function-based advertising appeals) of the websites. Texts, hyperlinks, and images in the selected websites were analyzed on the theoretical basis of instrumental versus symbolic function dichotomy. The analysis of the results reveals that there are cultural differences in terms of two function-related items identified in the automotive websites.
Length Versus Frequency: Deconstructing Myths In Advertising Research • Yongick Jeong, North Carolina – Chapel Hill • This study examined empirically the impact of commercial length and frequency on advertising effectiveness. The results supported hypotheses that predicted advantages of frequency over commercial length in enhancing audiences’ brand recognition and advertising liking. Although both commercial frequency and length were found to be significant, the impact obtained by running an additional commercial was considerably higher than the impact acquired by increasing average and total commercial length. Marketing implications for the results are discussed.
Cultural Differences in Specific versus Diffuse Dimension: A Design and Message Comparison between American and Korean Brand • Jong Woo Jun And Hyung-Seok Lee, University of Florida • This study explores the differences in brand execution for different cultures, Korea and the U. S. The purpose of this paper is to identify the role of specific/diffuse dimension on brand-marks and taglines. The finding indicates that Korean brands are generally more diffusive than those of the U. S.
The Influence of Appraisal and Emotion on Message Effectiveness of PSAs • Yahui Kang, University of Pennsylvania • The study adopts a new approach to message effectiveness by adapting traditional appraisal studies to mass media context; treating appraisal as a measure of message content; and identifying message content that is more conducive to emotional reactions and message persuasiveness. Using Scherer’s appraisal theory, the appraisal-emotion link found in the interpersonal context is replicated in the media context. Negative emotions elicited by PSAs contribute to perceived message effectiveness. Implications for PSA designing are discussed.
Toward Developing Conceptual Foundations of Internet Brand Community • Juran Kim, University of Tennessee • Recently, Internet brand communities are attracting attention from advertisers. One purpose of this study is to offer conceptual foundations of Internet brand community by developing an integrated overview of the current research. Concepts from the Structuration theory are used for synthesizing the consumer behavior literature. This stud attempts to find and till the gaps between brand community and Internet brand community in the literature h’ considering critical characteristics of the Internet environment.
Drama as Mediator or Magnifier of Emotional Responses to Irritation in Advertising: An Exploratory Study • Jennifer L. Lemanski, University of Florida • An exploratory experiment manipulating ad format type (drama versus argument) and irritation level (low versus high) was conducted to learn more about the effects on attitude toward the ad and recall of the ad when drama and irritation are involved.
Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion + Uses & Gratifications: An Enhanced Model of Comparative Advertising Effectiveness • Amy Shirong Lu, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This study draws from the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion and Uses and Gratifications to advocate a new model for the effectiveness of comparative advertising. The proposed model is highly conceptualized and awaits further theoretical input and more empirical testing. However, it is precisely the different natures of the ELM and U&G that make it important to find a way to bring together the two theories, which have been divided for too long.
Unselling the Cigarette: A Content Analysis of Persuasive Elements of Two Types of National Anti-Tobacco Advertisements • Jensen Moore & Keith Greenwood University of Missouri – Columbia • The purpose of this study was to examine the persuasive elements of a traditional anti-tobacco social marketing campaign to an industry manipulation campaign. It was suggested that because of reported effectiveness differences between the two campaigns, that different persuasive elements were being used. Ninety-Six print advertisements were content analyzed for visual and verbal persuasive elements.
A Content Analysis of Direct-to-consumer Pharmaceutical Television Commercials: A Look at the Information Cues Again • Daniel Ng, University of Leicester • The debate of direct to consumer ads has been a controversial one. Marketers enjoy huge advantages while advocate groups still fight for consumers’ rights. Both has entirely different point of view yet not one side has a convincing footing. A re-look at the information cues via using content analysis of television commercials indicate that there has nothing change except consumers certainly overloaded with overwhelming medical information. Some cues obviously appear more importantly than others.
Market Scarcity and Persuasion • Feng Shen, University of Florida • This study examined the role of purchase quantity restriction, a type of market scarcity, in persuasion. Purchase quantity restriction alone decreased message elaboration and product attitude favorability. The effect was further moderated by message quality. When a weaker message was present, the restriction still decreased message elaboration and product attitude favorability. When a stronger message was present, the restriction increased message elaboration and product attitude favorability.
The Master Settlement Agreement and Visual Imagery of Cigarette Advertising in Two Popular Youth Magazines • Yongjun Sung, and Heidi J. Hennink-Kaminski, University of Georgia • The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between tobacco companies and forty-six states bans tobacco companies from targeting youth through advertising and promotions. While previous studies examined the effect of the MSA on the overall cigarette marketing environment changes, no study has addressed possible shifts in the visual imagery and claims of cigarette ads in youth magazines since the MSA took effect in 1998. To address this issue, we analyzed cigarette advertisements in two popular youth magazines across two eras (pre-MSA vs. post-MSA).
The Mediating Role of Attitude toward the Ad and Identification with the Spokesperson Xiao Wang, Florida State University • This study examined the underlying psychological process of participants’ evaluation of source ethnicity and expertise on their acceptance of a public service announcement. The study proposed the effects of such evaluation were mediated by identification with the spokesperson and attitude toward the ad. Five hundred and twenty two participants evaluated one of four PSAs for HIV awareness campaigns.