Newspaper Advocacy Advertising

This article examines the magnitude and diversity of advocacy advertising in The New York Times and Washington Post for 1989. It is based on an analysis of the 661 advertisements which appeared in the two papers in 1989. The analysis shows: A small number of organizations regularly used advocacy ad- vertising as a communication tool. Profit corporations utilized advocacy advertising most fre- quently. However, nonprofit social service groups seem to be using advocacy advertising more frequently in the last several years. Three organizations were responsible for one-quarter of all ad- vocacy advertisements. Economic and social welfare issues were topics most often dis- cussed in the advertisements. The primary objective of the majority of ads was to mobilize public action rather than to provide education or improve pub- lic image.