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.

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.

Violence and Sex in Television Programs Do Not Sell Products in Advertisements

Bushman, Brad J. 2005. "Violence and Sex in Television Programs Do Not Sell Products in Advertisements." Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell) 16, no. 9: 702-708.

Brad Bushman’s study compliments and reinforces the findings discovered in a previously posted article, “Does sex sell? The effect of sexual programme content on the recall of sexual and non-sexual advertisements.” As found in Parker and Furnham’s study, Bushman argues that television programs containing sex or violence hinder brand recall and reduce consumers’ interest in buying or selecting a coupon for that brand. Surprisingly, however, Bushman did not find any differences or correlations concerning gender and age.

In his experiment, Bushman recruited 336 participants, aged 18 to 54, through newspaper ads in central Iowa. Age was distributed to be representative of US adults owning a television in their household. Participants were compensated. Participants were divided into four groups, 84 in each, and asked to watch a television show containing sex, violence, both sex and violence, or one with no sex and violence. Each television program included the same twelve advertisements. Bushman measured participants’ recall of advertisements, brand recognition, buying intentions, and coupon choices.

This article has its pros and cons. The article is current, as it was published in 2005, and the study is grounded in previous theory. Bushman offers a literature review, citations for further reading, and useful background information. He discusses the practical implications of the study; however he did not mention any limitations to his experiment. I do not plan on studying types of television programs in my research project, as advertisements will be my sole independent variable, yet I still believe Bushman’s experiment data and literature review will serve as a good secondary source and will be useful when comparing consumer behavior.

Does sex sell? The effect of sexual programme content on the recall of sexual and non-sexual advertisements

Parker, Ellie, and Adrian Furnham. 2007. "Does sex sell? The effect of sexual programme content on the recall of sexual and non-sexual advertisements." Applied Cognitive Psychology 21, no. 9: 1217-1228.

The authors of this study examined brand recall of sexual versus non-sexual advertisements inserted within television programs. The article begins with an in depth look into previous studies involving television advertisements of a sexual or violent nature. The authors’ study is based upon these previous theories which claim that sexual or violent commercials invoke emotions within consumers and lead to increases in sales.

To briefly summarize the authors’ experiment, participants, students aged 18 to 31, were asked to watch either ‘Sex in the City’ or ‘Malcolm in the Middle.’ After which, they were asked to recall details of the advertisements played during commercial break. The authors found that television shows containing sexual content, such as ‘Sex in the City,’ hindered consumers’ recall of advertisements. However, the type of advertisement, sexual or non-sexual, did not have a major effect on recall. The authors also reported differences between gender and advertisement recall. Males recalled sexual advertisements better, while females recalled non-sexual advertisements better. Those who recalled specific content of the advertisements remembered the brand name as well.

I found the information provided in this article to be useful. The authors’ literature review solidifies their study and gives them credibility. This article, and the additional sources cited in this article, could really enrich the literature reviews of advertisement studies. Not only does it discuss sexuality, the article also touches on issues of violence, gender roles, and age.