One of the staple components of "Sesame Street" over the last 50 years is the short, animated segments that periodically interrupt the narratives and focus on brief educational and literacy concepts. Histories of the show have recognized these segments and referred to them as commercials, but to date, literature lacks a comprehensive…

Background: The prevalence of smoking is higher among sexual minority (SM) individuals compared with heterosexuals. The impact of televised anti-tobacco mass media campaigns on smoking outcomes among SMs is not known. Aims: We examined whether televised anti-tobacco advertising was differentially associated with current smoking and smoking…

Media is an important socialization actor through which adolescents can learn about careers. Nine focus group interviews were conducted with 44 late adolescents (M[subscript age] = 16.27; SD[subscript age]= 0.54; 56.82% female) in high schools in Belgium to explore how youth in this age group receive career-related messages, the work tasks,…

The field of advertising has a structure that shapes consumer preferences and behaviors. The field of advertising undertakes the tasks of reflecting cultural values and norms, reinforcing or changing gender roles, and supporting social responsibility and campaigns. In addition, advertising, whose main purpose is sales, has a structure that shapes…

English as an international language has left its impact on all the languages being spoken in the world. This impact has led to a world-wide language variation on a large scale. This variation can be evidently observed in the form of code-mixing and code-switching. The study explores and analyzes the frequency of code-mixing in the TV ads…

A very important parts of TV commercials are the messages and how they convinced people. In addition, the information given in commercials may contain messages that seem like a fact however, they may not be true. To understand these commercials it is more beneficial to observe how they say instead of what they say. In many studies (Ferreira, et…

American universities receive millions of dollars worth of media exposure every year via Public Service Announcements (PSAs) broadcast during their respective school's athletic competitions. This research explores the message strategies and executional devices used by NCAA FBS (National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision)…

In two studies, we assessed the effectiveness of a classroom activity designed to increase students' ability to think critically. This activity involved watching and discussing an infomercial that contained pseudoscientific claims, thus incorporating course material on good research design and critical thinking. In Study 1, we used a…

Rhetorical analysis was a required unit of study for college students enrolled in intermediate English as a second language (ESL) composition. Twenty-six students participated in a project creating an original product and its infomercial. The project aimed at increasing student motivation to continue writing essays in English and providing a space…

Purpose: The goal of this study was to assess the use of "health" messages in food advertising in the USA which target children. The aim was to determine if these messages indicate the promotion of a healthful product or are a marketing tactic to promote unhealthy items, potentially undermining nutrition education efforts.…

Television advertisements, packaging regulations and health warning labels (HWLs) are designed to communicate anti-smoking messages to large number of smokers. However, only a few studies have examined how high smoking prevalence groups respond to these warnings. This study explored how socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers engage with health…

Background: Adolescents who perceive easy access to tobacco are more likely to acquire cigarettes and experience smoking. This study assesses area disparities in perceptions of access to tobacco and cigarette purchasing experiences among schoolchildren. Methods: Data on children's tobacco-related variables were obtained from the Control of…

This article focuses on aspects of children's rights as portrayed in television. The results of a six-month research study show analyses of television content of Channel 5, which is the only free-to-air, 24-hour, English-language entertainment channel in Singapore. The results identify the role of television in assisting Singapore to meet its…

Objective: To assess the content of food industry Web sites targeting children by describing strategies used to prolong their visits and foster brand loyalty; and to document health-promoting messages on these Web sites. Design: A content analysis was conducted of Web sites advertised on 2 children's networks, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. A…

Identifying what is, and what is not an advertisement is the first step in realizing that an advertisement is a marketing message. Children can distinguish television advertisements from programmes by about 5 years of age. Although previous researchers have investigated television advertising, little attention has been given to advertisements in…