Concludes that (1) the message structure of highly creative television commercials tends to differ from that of television commercials from the general population of television advertising and (2) there is a difference in the message structure of highly creative commercials across cultures. (FL)

How the TV commercial may be used to teach organization in writing. (SP)

Examines various ways the mass media, especially television, deceives the public through the manipulation of language. (RB)

Observation of televised toy commercials during holiday periods in 1977 and 1978 revealed that: 1) more boys than girls appeared in commercials in both years; 2) girls had more passive roles in 1977 commercials; and 3) vehicles and male dolls were primarily aimed at boys, while manipulative toys were aimed at both sexes. (Author/MJL)

Discusses techniques used in advertising parity products (products that do not differ from brand to brand) to attract children's attention and advocates consumer education for children to make them aware of advertising claims. (HTH)

Revealed a negative relationship to exposure to drug advertising and use of illicit drugs in the sample population. (KS)

Empirically analyzed the informational and symbolic content of 150 over-the-counter drug commercials on television. Results suggest that these ads tend to focus on what the drug will do for the consumer, rather than on the reasons why the drug should be ingested. Educational commitment seemed absent in promotional efforts. (RJM)

Studies visual discourses and visual modes of viewer engagement structuring negative political commercials. Finds that, using strategies of pictorial direct address and pictorial narrative, texts construct their visual arguments by creating ambiguity around the natural versus symbolic status of pictorial expression. Shows how pictorial realism can…

A survey of students in Channel One and control schools showed that regular viewing of Channel One reinforces materialistic attitudes. Youngsters are bombarded daily with advertising from adolescent-oriented radio stations, magazines, and TV programs outside school. Channel One does provide educators with a excellent opportunity to educate youth…

Appraises the information content of Singapore television advertising, and makes a comparison with relevant United States findings. Research reported in this paper is a replication of two empirical studies of the informational content of television advertising in the United States from 1977. (Author/LRW)

Analyzed television commercials aired on programs with high ratings for specific target audiences from 1992-94 to investigate how advertising imagery simultaneously constructed racial and gender stereotypes. Results indicated that 1990s television commercials portrayed white men as powerful, white women as sex objects, African American men as…

Examines the often attacked television commercial, its messages, and its effects. Considers commercials a contemporary art form, positing that they are deeply linked with the structure of poetry, and compares the TV director with the poet. Suggests that commercials are a "perfect" expression of the television medium--short, intensive,…

Critics have charged that American advertisers have often portrayed the elderly with negative stereotypes. These negative portrayals, they suggest, not only offend elderly consumers but also contribute to ageism. This study examined whether American advertisers have indeed used a great deal of negative stereotyping of the elderly, as the critics…

This article examines the way in which selfhood is constructed in direct-to-consumer advertisements for antidepressant medications. The sample consists of advertisements that appeared in nine popular magazines between 1997 and 2005, television commercials that ran between 2003 and 2005, and online promotional Web sites. The analysis is divided…