Investigates whether the literal use of synesthetic advertising (associating sense A to sense B) inhibits undergraduate students' appreciation of synesthetic language and thus reduces its persuasive impact. Discusses findings with respect to the underlying processes by which synesthetic metaphors persuade and the implications for sensory-rich…

Surveys consumers about their perceptions of advertising styles that mimic news, documentary, and editorial formats and about its associations. Suggests that these "hybrid" styles triggered values and meaning generally associated with more realistic forms of communication, perhaps making realism an involving and positive marketing…

Tests the persuasive impact of synesthetic metaphors (which equate sense A to sense B) in advertising headlines. Finds that in some circumstances, synesthetic headlines produce less, rather than more, favorable attitudes toward the advertisement and brand than literal equivalents. (SR)

Surveys editors and ad managers, finding that print media typically have an unwritten policy to label feature ads as advertisements. Tests the efficacy of such labeling, finding that feature ads borrow from the editorial credibility of a publication and that the current labeling policy does not adequately address the problem. (SR)

Investigates the impact of format and source on attitudes and behavioral intentions of an audience receiving a corporation's advocacy message. Suggests that news stories may be more effective than ads, and that a CEO (chief executive officer) appears more persuasive than an outside authority because the CEO can generate more interest among the…

Examines the women's pages of the "Washington Post" in the 1950s that were edited by Marie Sauer. States that the newspaper turned down Sauer's request in 1952 to change from traditional women's pages to a unisex "lifestyle" section. Analyzes how women's pages were shaped by factors such as advertising, professional values, and…

Offers a content analysis of U.S. magazine advertisements aimed at general audiences, finding that Latinos are highly underrepresented in magazine advertising. Shows that, although Latinos represent 10.5% of the U.S. population, they were present in just 4.7% of ads, and only 2.2% contained a Latino model in major role. (SR)

Finds that the number of black models in magazine advertisements has increased; the use of Hispanic and Asian models was extremely small; there were few differences in portrayal by gender or age; and blacks were more likely to appear as athletes or musicians and to be featured in public-service or government-sponsored ads. (SR)

Investigates whether memory for an advertisement is related to the medium in which the ad was viewed. Exposes undergraduate students to either a print newspaper front page or an online version of the same content. Finds that print subjects remembered significantly more ad material than online subjects. (RS)

Examines the relationship among the advertising industry, the actual "reality" of working women, and sociocultural constructions of female gender identity immediately before, during, and immediately following World War II. Finds that advertisers returned to prewar versions of social reality immediately after the war. (SR)

Contributes to scholarship on sexual content and gender portrayals in advertising by assessing images of women and men in magazine ads in 1983 and 1993. Finds both genders were portrayed more explicitly and through more sexually intimate contact in 1993; images of men were more explicit in the 1990s; and portrayals were most explicit in women's…

Finds that (1) animated banner ads (display advertisements hyperlinked to an advertiser's Web site) result in quicker response and better recall (from college students) than non-animated banner ads; (2) larger banner ads lead to better comprehension and more clicks than small banner ads; and (3) user mode (information seeking or Web surfing) did…

Applies schema theory to explore how undergraduate students respond to brand ads that incorporate social issues. Finds that placing an issue in an ad offers important advantages for advertisers and that congruent issue information elicits more positive affective and conative responses than incongruent issue information. Finds placing an issue in…

Contributes to scholarship on social movements, the strategic use of advertising, and journalism by documenting strategic use of advertising in the "New York Times" by the civil rights movement between 1955 and 1961. Finds that the ads framed the civil rights movement to prime the audience to receive radical messages from marginalized…

Considers how multimedia enhancements affect how much individuals learn from online news websites. Suggests that picture and audio are particularly powerful psychological cues. Finds that multimedia tends to hinder memory for story content and leads to negative evaluations of the site and its content, but improves memory for advertisements.…