Gender Issues in Advertising--An Oversight Synthesis of Research: 1970-2002

Wolin, Lori D. 2003. "Gender Issues in Advertising--An Oversight Synthesis of Research: 1970-2002." Journal of Advertising Research 43, no. 1: 111-129.

This article delves into advertising research performed over a thirty-two year span. Lori Wolin discusses the gender issues found in advertising, focusing on topics such as gender brand positioning, gender differences among responses to advertising, and gender role stereotyping. Her analysis leads her to the conclusion that advertisement stereotyping has decreased and realism has improved. She also discovered differences between the ways in which males and females process advertisements.

The article encompasses so many studies that could serve as a basis for my own research into televised advertisements. Wolin gives an in depth, easy to follow, analysis of gender issues found in the various advertising mediums. I also appreciate her use of tables. They serve as an organized summary of studies performed over the years. She included information such as the name, subject content, and findings of numerous research studies, dividing these studies by type and method of analysis.

The Effects of Pleasure and Arousal on Recall of Advertisements during the Super Bowl

Newell, Stephen J., Kenneth V. Henderson, and Bob T. Wu. 2001. The Effects of Pleasure and Arousal on Recall of Advertisements during the Super Bowl. Psychology & Marketing 18, no. 11: 1135-1153.

Basing their research upon the principles of Processing Efficiency and Intensity, Newell, Henderson, and Wu engaged in a study on the effects of consumers’ moods on advertisement effectiveness. More specifically, they investigated whether advertisement recall is affected by viewers’ levels of pleasure and arousal. The researchers conducted a field study, as participants watched the Super Bowl in their natural surroundings. Afterwards, researchers questioned participants on their recall of the advertisements aired.

They found that the Super Bowl invokes emotional responses within viewers, especially those with a team preference, hindering the recall of advertisements and brands. They reported that the average number of advertisements recalled was higher than the number of brand names recalled. The researchers also found that advertisements aired during the first half of the game were recalled more than those aired in the second half.

Their findings ask questions of whether or not Super Bowl advertisements are worth their cost, and this article proves useful in such a debate. The researchers offer detailed background information and they explain the principles of Processing Efficiency and Intensity, helping readers to fully understand the theory behind their study. Their findings are applicable to today, as the article is current. The researchers also discuss the limitations of their study and the potential avenues for future research.

The Effect of Advertising on the Market Value of Firms: Empirical Evidence from the Super Bowl Ads

Kim, Jooyoung, and Jon D. Morris. 2003. The effect of advertising on the market value of firms: Empirical evidence from the Super Bowl ads. Journal of Targeting, Measurement & Analysis for Marketing 12, no. 1: 53-65.

In their article, Jooyoung Kim and Jon Morris argue that companies should focus on communicating to stakeholders through their use of advertisements. The authors studied stakeholders’ perceptions of advertisements, whether or not stakeholders view advertisements as predictors of company performance, and whether or not stakeholders would invest in companies based upon their advertisements. Using Super Bowl advertisements, they examined stakeholders’ perceptions and behaviors by measuring stock price performance during peak advertising periods.

After statistically analyzing the collected data, Kim and Morris concluded that Super Bowl advertisements can be seen as overly expensive and inefficient. They reported that investors do not view advertising as predictors of company performance. Instead, stakeholders base investment decisions upon a company’s earnings, not advertisements. They did, however, find a difference in returns between .com companies and brick-and-mortor companies, as .com companies experienced a poorer return on investment. They did not find a relationship between stock price performance and ad likability or frequency.

I found this article interesting because it focuses on a target audience rarely talked about. I have read many articles regarding consumers’ perceptions of advertisements, but this is the first I’ve found that takes this different approach. The authors inform readers of investment strategies and illustrate the financial impact advertisements have on businesses and investors.

Coding Choices for Textual Analysis: A Comparison of Content Analysis and Map Analysis

Carley, Kathleen. 1993. Coding choices for textual analysis: A comparison of content analysis and map analysis. Sociological Methodology 23: 75-126

In this article, Kathleen Carley discusses the importance of textual analysis to social science research. She discusses the limitations of textual analysis techniques, claiming many to be time-consuming, costly, and non-generalizable. Carley compares and contrasts content analysis and map analysis, while offering coding scheme choices and guidelines to be used in each.

Both content analysis and map analysis have their advantages and disadvantages. Content analysis can be automated, but it may not reveal differences in meanings between texts. Map analysis, however, is more difficult to automate, but it does allow for a deeper understanding as it focuses on the relationships between concepts and the meaning of texts. This process helps researchers to see patterns and differences graphically and statistically.

I found this article helpful and it definitely gave me a better understanding of textual analysis. Carley was very detailed in her explanations of the two processes and of coding and classification schemes. She discussed certain attributes researchers should look for in their analysis, and used plenty real-life examples and illustrations to make her point.

Textual Analysis in Advertising Research: Construction and Deconstruction of Meanings

Stern, Barbara B. 1996. Textual analysis in advertising research: Construction and deconstruction of meanings. Journal of Advertising 25, no. 3: 61-73

Barbara Stern argues that textual analysis is a beneficial approach to understanding the meaning of advertisements, consumer effect, and marketing communications. She believes this process of analysis should involve three steps: identification of textual elements, construction of meaning, and deconstruction of meaning. Identification is the process of “naming the literary attributes” of the advertisements. These attributes include language, poetic devices, and metaphors. Construction involves categorizing the attributes into types or genres, and deconstruction uncovers consumers’ cultural assumptions of these attributes.

The article begins with a discussion on the history and evolution of advertising research. Stern examines the limitations of previous theory and argues that advertising research was “stuck in modernism” and neglected deconstruction in analysis. The article then becomes a sort of “how-to” manual, as she explains how to perform her method of textual analysis.

Although this article is dated, I find the information to be beneficial. I think it is important to know the history behind any topic of study. It allows for a deeper understanding. The article can also be used as a guide to textual analysis. I believe the in-depth explanations of her theory will be useful to my own textual analysis research.

The Impact of Digital Resource and Service Use on Urban Residents in New England Public Libraries—A Survey Report

Liu, Yan Quan and Agnes Wnuk. “The Impact of Digital Resource and Service Use on Urban Residents in New England Public Libraries—A Survey Report.” Public Library Quarterly 28, no.1 (2009): 4-23.

This article discusses the results of a survey to find out users’ perspective on library services in an urban New England setting. It is reporting on the second in a series of surveys seeking to find out who’s using public library digital resources and services, how they’re using them, and why they’re using them.

Researchers were looking at both usability and accessibility, from the patron’s point of view, and were looking to identify trends in user characteristics and patterns of information sought. Not surprisingly, they found that “mere access to information, computers, and the Internet are not enough. The hardware and software must be upgraded when necessary. Moreover, users must have the skills to use both hardware and software to search competently” (6).

The authors report many of the same issues as in other studies, namely true access includes fast enough connection speed, enough workstations for patron demand, updating and maintaining hardware and software, and sufficient time on computers to accomplish tasks.

Although this survey was much broader in scope than my project, the researchers were looking for basically the same information as I was: How do people use public libraries.

It was interesting, but not surprising that they used some of the same questions I used in my questionnaire, and their results provide a point of comparison with my results.

In addition to much useful information, this article serves as a good contrast to Bertot, et al., because the authors were asking patron questions, while the articles by Bertot et al, reported on surveys answered by librarians.