Differential Effects of Chinese Women's Sexual Self-Schema on Responses to Sex Appeal in Advertising

Despite the increased use of sex appeal in advertising, little is known about the influence of individual personality differences on responses to sexual information. This study examines the effects of the “sexual self-schema” personality trait on Chinese women's responses to advertisements using sex appeal. Regardless of the type of sexual information used, attitudes toward these advertisements mediate the effect of sexual self-schema on the purchase intentions of women with lower sexual self-schema while this mediating effect was not observed in women with higher sexual self-schema. The theoretical and practical implications of sex appeal in advertising for Chinese women are discussed.     

Attitude of Muslim Consumers Toward Sex Appeal in Advertising: A Comparative Study Between Subcultures in Malaysia

This research was designed in order to explore the subculture differences in Malaysian consumers’ responses to sex appeal advertising. This study employs a 2 × 2 × 2 full factorial between subjects design. There are two levels of model gender (male/female), two levels of sex appeal (high/low), and two levels of religion of the subjects (Muslim/non-Muslim). When comparing Muslims and non-Muslims in the responses to the ads, it was generally found that Muslim subjects’ attitudes were significantly lower than non-Muslims attitudes toward the same ads. Future research should adopt a more representative sample and test different product categories.     

消费社会语境下的广告文化批判

消费社会是以商品的大规模消费为特征的社会,从消费社会的角度来看,广告文化具备符号化、视觉化、时尚化和鼓励炫耀性消费的特征。在消费社会,广告通过建构商品符号意义,强化、误导目标受众的身份认同,刺激消费者的欲望,来助推消费心理,夸大其对心理满足的功能。它深深地受到商品逻辑的制约,反过来以商品逻辑瓦解原有的社会价值结构和秩序,并在与媒介的同谋中,广泛而持续地干扰媒介传播,刺激着消费社会以及社会文化的负面发展。     

The State of Augmented Reality Advertising Around The Globe: A Multi-Cultural Content Analysis

As a new form of advertising, augmented reality (AR) advertising offers a unique opportunity to study how new technology-facilitated ad campaigns are constructed across cultures. This research analyzes the content of 117 AR ad campaign videos uploaded on YouTube, and reveals the prevalent characteristics of AR campaigns. We compared videos from individualistic countries with those from collectivistic countries. Results suggest that AR ad campaigns from more individualistic cultures tend to include product information and enable a user to control the virtual AR content, whereas AR ad campaigns from more collectivistic cultures tend to allow a user to become part of the virtual AR content without manipulating it. In closing, we discuss managerial implications for marketers and advertisers as well as opportunities for future research.     

内疚广告诉求对消费者道德消费意愿的影响机制研究

基于认知失调理论和心理抗拒理论,通过两个实验探究了企业道德营销中内疚与非内疚诉求影响消费者道德消费意愿的心理作用机制。结果表明,内疚诉求比非内疚诉求更能促进消费者的道德消费意愿,强迫性感受和操纵意图推断发挥了中介作用,且该中介作用受到消费者涉入度的调节。具体而言,低消费者涉入度情境中,相比于非内疚诉求,内疚诉求能够降低消费者的强迫性感受和操纵意图推断,进而增强其道德消费意愿;高消费者涉入度情境中,相比于内疚诉求,非内疚诉求能够降低消费者的强迫性感受和操纵意图推断,进而增强其道德消费意愿。研究结论有助于企业设计道德属性产品的广告策略,有效降低受众心理抗拒反应,提升受众广告体验,进而推动道德消费。     

Consumer Attitudes toward Online Advertising: The Moderating Role of Personality

This study investigates how consumer attitudes toward advertising in general affect their attitudes toward online advertising. It also investigates the moderating role of the personality traits of introversion and extroversion in explaining this relationship. An online survey is used to collect data from a convenience sample of 244 respondents living in Canada. Results show that attitude toward advertising in general has a positive and significant impact on attitude toward online advertising. Introversion is found to have no moderating impact on the relationship between both attitudes. However, extroversion moderates this relationship.     

Offensiveness of Advertising with Violent Image Appeal: A Cross-Cultural Study

Violent images are often used in advertisements to gain attention and sell products, resulting in complaints to regulatory bodies and concern regarding the effects of these potentially offensive advertisements on society. This paper presents the results of a survey of 930 university students from six countries to determine which personal and attitudinal variables have a significant influence on their attitudes toward advertisements with violent images. The results indicate that gender, country, intensity of religious beliefs, economic inclination, and products (social/political groups) produced the strongest reaction. These factors should be considered when advertisers run local or global campaigns with violent images.     

Time Orientation and Attitudes toward Advertising in a High-Context Culture: An Empirical Study of Macau

Each culture has its own dominant construct of time that influences the value placed on the use of time by individuals. This empirical study examines how time orientations influence attitudes toward advertising in a high-context culture of an Asian economy. Data was collected through surveys in Macau. Findings show that Macanese are more future orientated but less enthusiastic towards advertising; they switch to another channel and engage in other activities during commercial breaks. Results also show that past orientation has the strongest impact on advertising avoidance. The authors offer managerial implications for the development of effective advertising programs in this emerging market.     

Television Advertising Avoidance: Advancing Research Methodology

New technologies have led to increased television advertising avoidance. In particular, mechanical avoidance in the form of zipping and zapping has gained momentum in recent years. Channel switching or “commercial zapping” studies employ diverse methodologies, including self reports, electronic monitoring, laboratory, and in-home observation which has led to a diversity of reported results. This article proposes advancing and standardizing the methodology to comprise a two-phase hidden observation and survey method. A number of research phases have led to the development of this method to collect both mechanical and behavioral avoidance data. The study includes a detailed outline of the hidden observation approach. The survey phase opens up the potential for the collection of viewer data that may further illuminate television advertising avoidance behavior.     

Tell What You Want but Do Not Irritate Me: A Senior Perspective About Advertising

This study provides an understanding of the underlying processes and attitudes toward advertising while watching in TV and YouTube. We intend to contribute to better understand what could lead senior consumers to avoid advertising. The aims are to (i) analyze the relationship between drivers to ad avoidance among senior viewers and (ii) compare the perceptions about those drivers between TV advertising and YouTube advertising among senior viewers. A sample of 214 senior viewers provided data to test the hypotheses. Findings reveal that irritation seems to be the crucial factor that lead consumers to avoid whacking advertising. A negative attitude toward advertising and skepticism do not mediate the effect between advertising irritation and avoidance. The article also provides managerial implications and suggestions to further research.     

社会化媒体中消费者生成广告的影响因素模型及作用路径

如今社会化媒体中随处可见消费者对品牌信息的评论、转发以及创作与品牌相关内容的行为,这样的行为对品牌传播产生了极大影响,它相对于传统品牌传播方式更有效。那么社会化媒体中消费者生成广告行为受到何种因素的影响,这些因素之间存在何种内在逻辑关系？本研究采用立意抽样的方式,选择活跃于社会化媒体（微博、微信、美拍）中的消费者作为研究对象,使用扎根理论的开放式编码、主轴编码与选择性编码对访谈材料进行分析,最后结合选择性编码与“故事线”的方式构建了CGA-EESM影响因素模型。该模型显示：环境、经验、刺激与动机是消费者生成广告行为的四个关键影响因素,它们之间存在错综复杂的作用路径。     

Power and responsibility: Advertising self-regulation and consumer protection in a digital world

While advertising self-regulation is generally considered effective in a closed, largely country-based system, the digital world in which we now live is an open and global system. This raises challenges for consumer protection from national regulators trying to enforce compliance from global media platforms, advertisers, and consumers. Applying the power-responsibility equilibrium, this study explores who has the power and who has the responsibility for advertising self-regulation in a digital world. In doing so, it takes an ethnographic approach, eliciting insights from 18 key stakeholders in the self-regulatory process, across the three geographical areas of Europe, United States, and Asia-Pacific. The findings highlight the need for more collaboration and alignment of self-regulatory systems and build a framework for action through embedding responsibility, aligning standards, initiating processes, and improving outcomes. Six recommendations are offered to restore the balance of power and responsibility.     

Informational/Transformational Appeals in Political Advertising: An Analysis of the Advertising Strategies of 2010 U.S. Gubernatorial Campaigns

This study addressed four gaps in political advertising research: (a) a better framework to replace the issue–image dichotomy, (b) differences in advertising strategies between incumbents and challengers, (c) influence of party positioning on candidate positioning in advertising, and (d) political advertising in state elections. Through a content analysis of 210 advertisements from the 2010 U.S. gubernatorial elections, it was revealed that (a) the concept of information/transformation was similar to the notion of issue/image, and the typology of informational/transformational advertising, after modification, adequately captured the complexity of political advertising; (b) the use of advertising appeals did differ between incumbents and challengers—incumbents used more transformational appeals and positive advertisements, whereas challengers used more informational appeals and negative advertisements; and (c) while the informational advertisements of the Republican candidates appeared to be substantially impacted by issues owned by their party, the influence of party positioning on candidate positioning was quite limited.     

Five-Stage Acculturation Process of Hispanic Consumers: Theory,Method, and Findings

This study aims at reproducing the acculturation process for adult consumers, introducing continuous measures to reveal the acculturation process’ dynamic nature, and identifying a transitional state. Using U.S. Hispanic consumers as a cardinal example, and six coordinated consumer samples, this study introduces continuous measures of cultural awareness and ethnic loyalty. The revision taken herein overcomes limitations of existing theories and models by better measuring two key forces shaping the acculturation process of Hispanic consumers and by finding a transitional state of resiliency, thereby showing that the process of consumer acculturation can best be reflected in a typology of five states.     

Advertising effects on consumer welfare: Prices paid and liking for brands selected

The effect of advertising on consumer welfare has been the subject of dispute among economists, arising largely from disagreement among scholars regarding the persuasive versus the informative role of advertising. This paper reports two experiments that explore the welfare implications of advertising effects. Experiment 1 shows that the same advertisements can either increase or decrease prices paid for selected brands, depending on the degree to which the choice situation requires brands to be recalled in order to be considered. However, an increase in prices paid caused by advertising does not necessarily imply detrimental effects on consumer welfare. Experiment 2 shows that, even under circumstances in which differentiating advertising leads consumers to select brands with higher average prices, it can provide useful information to consumers that allows them to make purchases that are more in line with their personal tastes than are the choices of consumers not exposed to the advertisements.     

Women's Responses to Sex in Advertising

Abstract

Advertising researchers have neglected to analyze women's reactions to sexual appeals, and researchers are just beginning to recognize the utility of personality variables as predictors of responses to sex in advertising. This study addresses both areas by testing women's reactions to a sexual commercial, and examining the relationship between women's sexual schemas with their responses. Sexual schemas are people's cognitive views of themselves that predict approach/avoidance to sexual behavior and sexual information. Overall, women who have more positive sexual self-schemas (sex positive) were found to have more positive attitudes-toward-the-ad and brand interest for the sexual ad. Purchase intention, however, was not affected. The findings and their implications are discussed.     

E-mail Advertising in Syria: Assessing Beliefs,Attitudes, and Behaviors

The present study aimed at assessing Syrian consumers' beliefs regarding, attitude, and behavioral responses toward e-mail advertising and investigating the relationships among those variables. A cross-sectional survey was conducted and it yielded 273 valid responses. The proposed model was analyzed and tested using a structural equation modelling approach. Our findings showed that both informativeness and entertainment beliefs positively predicted Syrian consumers' attitudes toward e-mail advertising. Additionally, attitude was found to fully mediate the relationship between beliefs regarding and behavioral responses toward e-mail advertising.     

The Impact of Price Level and Appeal Type in Hotel Advertising: A Pilot Study

Limited extant experimental research on advertising appeal effectiveness in the presence of price cues in a service offer provides the motivation for this study. While past research has found support for the effectiveness of both rational and emotional appeals in services marketing, this research, in the context of hotel advertising, shows that appeal type effectiveness may vary with the price level of the service. More specifically, this study finds that rational appeals are more effective than emotional appeals for low-priced hotels, but for high-priced hotels, rational and emotional appeals show no significant difference in influencing consumer evaluations of the offer.     

The Impact of the Great Recession on Financial Services Advertising: An Exploratory Study

We explore how advertising managers of financial services organizations have responded to the repercussions of the Great Recession in their advertising strategies. To this end, we compare print ads for financial services that appeared in six magazines at two periods in time: 2005, prior to the Great Recession and 2010, after the end of the Great Recession. We content analyzed 755 prints ads and found major differences in the advertising strategies from prerecession to postrecession, particularly in the type of appeals. We further examined these strategic shifts by audience focus (business-to-business and business-to-consumer) and gender focus (male, female, or both).     

Computer-aided content analysis: What do 240 advertising slogans have in common?

This paper uses the technique of computer-aided text analysis to evaluate the meanings of 240 advertising slogans. Content analysis performed by a computer is more reliable and less tedious than that performed by human coders. We analyze the content of the slogans and assume this reflects what the advertiser thinks that he or she said. One large group of equivocal slogans and four other more distinct groups are found.