Call for Papers

Advertising and Reality: A Global Look on Life in Commercials (Book)

Deadline for extended abstracts: October 1, 2010 

Expected publication date: Fall 2012 

Under contract with: Continuum.  

Editor: Amir Hetsroni, Ariel University Center-Israel, School of Communication 

This book, under contract with Continuum, aims to offer an extensive peak at the way our life is represented in advertising. For that purpose, a call is made here to mass media scholars, advertising researchers, marketing experts and social science academics from all over the world to offer contributions that shed light on the way human life is represented in commercials and the potential effects of this representation.  

The approach of this collection is social-scientific. This means that empirical studies, literature reviews and theoretical entries are all welcome – as long as they are positivistic in the manner of knowledge pursuit. Purely polemic-critical articles and manuscripts that purportedly "prove" claims by relying on non-representative samples will not be considered. However, the examination of any advertising channel (broadcast, print, digital etc.) is welcome, and cross-cultural studies are particularly encouraged, as one of the book's objectives is portraying the way modern life looks like in the most popular form of marketing communication worldwide.  

Contributions can be of two types: (a) direct examination of the representation of reality in advertising; (b) related effects and theories.  

Contributions of the first type are, in most cases, expected to be content analyses, or extensive reviews of existing research, or a combination of the two. Preference will be given to submissions that analyze new data. Here are some suggested topics. Authors are welcome to come up with additional ideas:  

·          Families in advertising  

·          Children in advertising  

·          Work and leisure in advertising  

·          Gender roles in advertising  

·          Objectionable content in advertising (sex and violence)  

·          Minorities in advertising  

·          Risky behavior in advertising (e.g. drunk driving)  

·          Health, diseases and death in advertising  

·          Eating and drinking and their aftermath: Food and body figure in advertisements  

·          Age and ageing in advertising  

·          Physical and man-made scenery in advertising  

·          Love and romance in advertising  

Contributions of the second type are expected to be surveys/experiments, or extensive reviews of existing research, or a combination of the two (with preference given to submissions that analyze new data). Content wise, the papers should engage in:  

·          Cross-Cultural differences in presenting everyday life in advertising  

·          Immediate and non-immediate effects of reality representation in advertising (emphasizing in particular non-commercial effects)  

·          Theoretical accounts of reality representation in advertising: Application of schools such as cultivation, priming etc.  

The deadline for extended abstract submission (3-4 pages long) is: October 1, 2010. 

The abstract should consist of a purpose statement for the proposed paper, theoretical framework(s), method(s) of analysis, major findings (of previous studies) and expected results (for new studies), scholarly contribution, public appeal/applied implications (if existing) and a short biographical sketch of the author(s). Please note that – as in almost any academic collection – acceptance is a based on merit, editorial needs and submissions supply. Since some of the suggested topics would likely yield a larger number of submissions – the chances of having a paper on one of the more popular topics accepted are lower. Authors are welcome to send in more than one abstract, but no more than one chapter per author will be included in the book.  

Notification of acceptance/rejection and invitations to submit complete papers (5,000-12,000 words, APA style) will be made on or before November 15, 2010.

The complete papers are due on March 1, 2011.

The book will go to print towards the end of the summer of 2011. Rigorous review will be performed and revisions are likely to be required throughout the process.  

Please send submissions, inquires and proposals to:  

Professor Amir Hetsroni  

School of Communication  

Ariel University Center, Israel  

Tel.: 972-54-497504  

Fax: 972-8-9286602  

E-mail: amirhe@ariel.ac.il ; amirhetsroni@gmail.com