VISUAL IMAGES AND PRODUCT ASSOCIATIONS IN MAGAZINE ADS FOR ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO: A STUDY OF CONSUMER PERCEPTION (pp. 1 - 8, 1991)
Timothy P. Meyer

This study has examined the response of consumers to the images in cigarette and alcohol ads. Consumers noted product associations with and without the product being present; they also tried to correctly guess the product type or specific brand being advertised. The results showed that common images used in magazine advertising, including those used by tobacco and alcohol advertisers, yielded consumer guesses that were generally incorrect as to the product type and specific brand.

This paper reports the results of a survey of nonprofit managers regarding their perceptions of the use and effectiveness of explicit and implied comparative advertising messages. Managers were found to be significantly more negative toward the use of explicit comparisons. This result to contrary to previous research which shows that for-profit managers are more favorable toward the use of explicit comparisons.

The results of our study indicate that nonprofit managers do not want to use comparative advertising because it might "break the rules" of conduct operating in their environments. However, managers may become more amenable to this technique if it was shown to be effective in empirical research.

This session addressed the issues surrounding the competitive nature of advertising copywriting, including problems, opportunities, approaches, placement and other issues that relate in both an academic and a professional environment. The objective was to provide an environment wherein information could be shared among the panelists about advertising copywriting. Six questions were asked of four panelists. The panel was made up of two advertising professors who teach copywriting on a regular basis and two working professionals-One a working copywriter, and the other a professional creative recruiter.

This study outlines the various routes of advertisers into high school and junior high school classrooms. Criticisms against advertisements targeted towards teens have been many. Yet, no end to these commercial messages in the classroom is in sight. To enable instructors to make the best use of such messages, a framework for the analysis of both manifest and latent advertising content is outlined. Use of such a framework could enhance the educational experiences of students and help them become more discriminating consumers of both commercials in classrooms, and more importantly, commercials in every day life outside the classroom. The framework was applied to the commercials aired during the five-week pilot broadcast of Whittle Communication's Channel One. Channel One is a daily 12-minute television news program - complete with two minutes of advertising - produced for high school students. The authors coded the products and services advertised, bow the commercials were structured, what formats and appeals were used and what values were present. A semiotic analysis of an advertisement was also provided.

This paper examines the incidence of television advertising for food products with potentially ambiguous terms in the brand name. Although many commercials provide some type of definition for what these terms mean, the definitions are often abstract and inconsistent across brands. This situation opens the door for consumers to draw inferences and to miscomprehend the commercials.

A longitudinal analysis of Third Class postal rates, Third Class advertising mail volume, and population levels showed that postal rate increases have occurred simultaneously with, preceded, as well as followed increases in Third Class mail advertising volume. However, when the effects of population levels were partialled out, the findings showed a significant relationship only in the instance where postal rate increases were preceded by increases in Third Class advertising mail volume. The results suggested that there is some merit to the argument of postal authorities that Third Class rates are raised because of increased labor costs demanded by increases in mail volume.

This study uses identical 25-item semantic differential scales to explore the images evoked by individual celebrity endorsers and products, and then to explore the impact of combining celebrity and product images. Each celebrity/product pair was evaluated on a seven-point scale with the endpoints representing an "extremely descriptive" characteristic. The results of this study indicate that Christie Brinkley and Madonna are perceived as having vastly different images and identical products they endorse, tend to be perceived as possessing attributes similar to the respective endorser. The effect of endorsements was pronounced; in the majority of cases, the evaluation of the celebrity endorsed product more closely represented the separate evaluation of the endorser than the separate evaluation of the product. The implications of this finding are discussed.

Use of advertising spokes-characters -fictional animated personalities such as Mickey Mouse, the Pillsbury Doughboy, and the Keebler Elves - has been a constant in the advertising industry, suggesting a need for research on their effectiveness. Although most existing research on source effects does not address the spokes- character specifically, this literature serves as the basis for a spokes-character classification scheme and exploratory study. The proposed typology distinguishes between celebrity and non-celebrity spokes-characters. An exploratory study indicates that the celebrity status of the spokes-character negatively affects product recall. Support was also found for spokes-character likeability affecting purchase intent, although it did not significantly affect product recall.

The advertising during the XXIV Super Bowl was examined to determine the effectiveness of using sports celebrity appeal in television commercials. The empirical results clearly indicate that sports celebrities have the potential to be very effective.

The findings from this study appear to indicate that translating a commercial from English to Spanish seems to make the commercial somewhat easier to understand for Hispanic viewers but this does not translate into differences in attitudes toward the commercial.

By the year 2000, Hispanics will be the second largest ethnic group in the U.S. and the fastest growing with nearly 35 million and will have purchasing power valued just under $500 billion. Yet, the market continues to be underutilized. This paper examines current trends in the Hispanic market and identifies key problem areas that will require clarification and some resolution to ensure the vitality and growth of the market. Also discussed are the conditions under which advertising and promotion can play influential roles in propelling this market segment into its deserved position of prominence.

A comparison between British and American television advertising was undertaken to determine if their advertising styles and techniques differ. A large sample of advertisements from the two countries was content analyzed and examined according to the Foote, Cone and Belding (FCB) planning matrix of product involvement (high/low) and product emotionality (thinking/feeling). The results show that advertising styles do vary substantially and systematically between the contingent decision making FCB cells. The outcome provides only partial support to the widely held view that British ads are oriented more toward a soft sell than US ads. Specifically, the ads in both countries changed their orientation from a factual to an entertainment focus as products moved high involvement/thinking toward low involvement/emotional categories. The major difference between the countries was revealed in the high involvement/ emotional product cell where US ads took a decidedly factual orientation while U.K. ads primarily used an entertainment dominant focus.

This content analysis used the Resnik-Stern (1977) classification scheme to investigate the informativeness of magazine ads from Germany and Greece and make comparisons with U.S. ads. Based on the Resnik-Stern definition of an "informative" ad (presence of at least one information cue) findings from all three national samples were "informative." "Performance" and "components/contents" cues were prevalent in ads of all three countries. More Greek ads had the "availability" cue than German or U.S. ads; German ads showed a significantly greater incidence of the "quality" cue; and ads in the U.S. sample had significantly more of the "price/value" and "special offers" cues. In all three countries, informativeness varied by magazine type and by product category.

The initial participants in the standardization debate largely argued their case qualitatively, A few empirical studies were done; these investigated the actual practice of standardization. Later studies focused on the consumer and consumer responses to products/advertising in different parts of the world. The early phase of the debate was also marked, to some extent, by the lack of an operational definition of standardization. As clearer distinctions began to be made between marketing and advertising standardization, a new type of study became common: the analysis of advertising (domestic and foreign) content for themes, execution styles, and so on. The present study derives from this tradition. It compares the information content of American and Japanese television commercials, particularly by strategy, and finds both similarities and differences. If standardization implies an absolutist position [universality in advertising strategy (i.e., message) and tactics], then this study argues that the differences warrant caution in the adoption of standardization.

Attitudes toward the ad (Aad) has been hypothesized to be a mediator of advertising's effect on both brand attitudes and purchase intentions. However, people may have different opinions toward the advertising carried by different media which could impact both the formation and the direction of Aad The attitudes that individuals have toward the advertising carried by different media may also impact media consumption patterns. This paper presents the development and test of a scale which assesses attitudes toward radio advertising (ATRA).

Recent research suggests that motivation and ability influence ad processing. This paper presents results of a study which investigated the impacts of goal-directed processing (motivation) and product-class knowledge (ability) on receiver's cognitive responses to attribute-based ads. Results are discussed in light of current developments in ad processing.

Program arousal and program pleasantness jointly affected viewers' evaluation of commercial pleasantness for the group of commercials. The results suggest that the highly arousing, pleasant/unpleasant programs used in this research induced viewers to feel both aroused and pleasant/unpleasant. These feelings, in turn, influenced viewers' evaluation of emotionally neutral commercials.

The advertising industry has long informally valued intuition as an important problem-solving tool, particularly in the development of strategy and messages. Advertising also provides an excellent environment for studying intuition because it routinely employs a variety of problem-solving approaches in addition to intuition. The creative and media planning functions within the advertising industry offer a unique opportunity to study seemingly opposite problem-solving approaches within the same environment. To this end, a mail survey was conducted of leading creative and media directors from the top 500 U.S. advertising agencies. Correlates of intuitive behavior were examined overall and in relation to the creative and media functions.

In order to validate the validity of creative strategy constructs, a questionnaire consisting of 43 items representing each of the constructs was developed. A confirmatory factor analysis was done to test whether the items correlated with each other in the manner suggested by the theory versus the way that contradicted it. It was determined that the model was satisfactory.

As the result of an ongoing technological revolution, the computer is now one of the major devices used in conceptualizing, developing, and producing materials for both the print and electronic mass communications media. The designer's involvement with the computer is an integral part of this movement. New designers are required to have computing skills to step into the changing field. Universities and design schools can no longer teach traditional production methods to prepare students for entry into any of the visual communications industries. Research exists that explores the creative processes of the writer while working at the word processor. However, there is no empirically supported literature that attempts to understand the relationship between the artist and the design station. A consensus is lacking as to whether the computer is indeed a medium unto itself or a device operating solely to enhance other media. Much work lies ahead in defining where the computer fits into either the creative process or where computer generated images fit into our visual communications vocabulary. This paper proposes an approach to researching the effect, if any, that the computer as a tool is having on the creative process of design.

The objective of this special session is to examine the current status of ethnic minority advertising and consumer behavior research in the United States. As the United States is experiencing more and more ethnic diversities these days, efforts to study and gain understanding of the various ethnic cultures have been on the increase. The mere size of the minorities and the intercultural exchanges between the majority and the minority groups have and will continue to define and redefine many aspects of our society. Indeed, the rapid growth of these segments of the population will likely have increasing impact on the U.S. in years to come. While it is true that ethnic minority studies are gaining attention these days, they have also suffered from compartmentalized theorization as a consequence of disciplinary loyalty. This is manifested in the definitions of the key terms, methods of examination, ethnic groups compared, and the various dimensions of the dependent measures. Indeed, over the years, a variety of terms such as acculturation, ethnic identification/affiliation, country-of-origin, ethnic assimilation, and alienation have all been employed to study consumption-related attitudes, values, and behaviors of members from different cultural groups. The research methodologies employed are almost as diverse as the ways in which definitions are operationalized. Clearly a lack of consistent conceptualization and measurement has produced a fragmented picture of how consumers in the various ethnic groups think, feel and behave. The session therefore attempted to provide an active forum for discussion on issues of theories, methodologies and practices on ethnic minority research and, in the process, accomplish two tasks. First, by examining existing theories and methodologies, we will be able to synthesize what has been accomplished so far in advancing our knowledge of the different ethnic minority groups in the U.S. and suggest alternative perspectives for further research. Secondly, by providing empirical evidence and practical examples, we will identify relevant and urgent issues to be addressed in future ethnic minority advertising and consumer behavior research. Therefore, the four papers presented in this session addressed the current status of ethnic minority research from different perspectives and suggested alternatives or refinements.

Negative political advertising has been extremely effective in influencing voters' preferences in some races, but relatively ineffective in others. This indicates that the impact of these ads is likely to be contingent on other factors. To date, research examining factors that can influence the magnitude of effects occurring from exposure to negative political advertising has been limited to attributes of the message. However, the degree to which negative ads influence voting decisions can also be effected by characteristics of the voters themselves. This study examined some potentially important voter attributes political engagement, campaign involvement and attention to news in both newspapers and on television. A survey of registered voters during a senatorial campaign was used to examine the effect these variables. Respondents were asked about the impact of four specific negative ads used in this race on their voting intents regarding each of the two candidates. Regression analysis indicated that political engagement, campaign involvement and attention to television news are positively related to the degree to which negative political ads influenced voting decisions. Attention to newspaper news reduces the impact of negative ads, but only after controlling for the other variables.

Current discussions surrounding the pervasiveness of negative political advertising in recent federal and state campaigns have noted growing concern over its effect on the American electorate. As a means to investigate the mechanics of negative political advertising, the author attempts to integrate the literature of political symbolism as a framework from which to research political advertising's impact on the voting public. The author first presents revised definitions of positive and negative political advertising which reflect the trust relationship between the candidate and the voter, and then outlines the various forms of political symbols as they are currently used. Next, a discussion of how political symbols naturally emerge or are manufactured by political advertisers is offered. The paper then contrasts the ways these symbols can be used to form either positive or negative political messages, and explores the models political advertisers use to manipulate the trust relationship to either forge or break the bond of trust between voters and candidates. Finally, three areas for future research are set forth.

On September 11, 1990, Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy, the highest ranking woman in Massachusetts's politics, withdrew from the gubernatorial primary. Her withdrawal ended a campaign that had helped focus attention on the issue of money in campaigns-specifically on controllable activities that money can buy, such as advertising, and on the less controllable activities that money cannot buy, like news coverage. Murphy's campaign ran out of money; "her financial resources virtually dried up. She scraped together enough funds for one last purchase of television time in late summer, but she could not compete with the fundraising operations of Bellotti or Silber" (Loth 1990, p. 1). Yet, when her dollars ran out, she turned to classic, traditional public relations-the staging of activities to generate free media coverage. "Two weeks before the primaries, she finally provoked a public clash with Dukakis, and that tactic won Murphy more free attention than at any time in her campaign (Loth 1990, p. 25). According to columnist Ellen Goodman, the campaign brought sharply into focus the issue of the relative effectiveness of paid media, like advertising, and the so-called non-paid media, like generating news coverage (1990).

The purpose of the session was to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of an emerging trend in advertising scholarship that attempts to combine and integrate the traditions of literary criticism, studies in popular culture, culture and mythology, art criticism, and other areas once loosely labeled as "interpretive studies." The interest in advertising from these perspectives is apparent in the increase in journal articles and conference papers on these more "critical" approaches to the study of advertising in recent years.

"The Brand Persona: A Literary View of Source Characteristics and Advertising Effects,"
Barbara B. Stern

"Pop Art and Canned Culture: The Art of Commodification,"
Linda M. Scott

"Volkswagen as Little Man,"
Bruce G. Vanden Bergh

Today, I would like to discuss the special opportunities and difficulties in applying traditional advertising and marketing principles in designing AIDS communication campaigns using illustrations from developing countries.

This study, conducted in 1983, was designed to help identify target prospects for a new women's magazine distributed through supermarkets and similar checkout locations. This report covers only one aspect of a much larger study.

During the summer of 1990, a survey was conducted among the sales promotion managers of fifty of the top package goods companies in the United States. The goal of the survey was to determine the organizational structure of the promotional function and what changes were or might be occurring. A total of 44 interviews were completed (14 personal interviews and 31 through a mail instrument). The results were reported at a meeting of the Association of National Advertisers Sales Promotion Conference in Oak Brook, IL in October, 1990. The current organizational structure of the promotion function in the companies studied was of a functional design. Generally, the design consisted of a marketing services department which reported to a vice president of marketing. In the marketing services department, most organizations had functional department managers for advertising, sales promotion, marketing information, research and packaging/design. Commonly, sales promotion decisions for the organization are made four levels down in management (sales promotion manager recommends to marketing services manager who recommends to vice president of marketing who recommends to chief executive officer). The sales promotion manager's primary tasks include: 75% plan and implement multi-product promotions; 70% plan and implement brand budgeted programs; 65% consult only, generally with brand managers. Some radical changes are being tested in the organizational structure in the sales promotion function. In four of the cases studied, the new organizational structure consists of three operating units (marketing implementation; marketing planning and sales) under a vice president of marketing. These three units are all at the same reporting level. The marketing planning unit is responsible for long-term planning (three to five years out) for all the brands. The marketing implementation group is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the brand, including all communications functions. The sales group is responsible for sales of the branded products. All three groups work together to develop and implement sales and communication programs for the company's brands and the overall corporate organization. Inherent in these new structures are major changes in how promotional programs are developed and implemented in consumer product companies in the future. These include: (1) promotion will become more important in the organization's allocation process; (2) promotion planning will be more long-term; (3) there will be more focus on brand building; (4) promotion managers will be more involved in planning and strategy and (5) there will be more emphasis on measuring the effectiveness of the promotional programs.

During the summer of 1990 the authors did an advertising impact study for a major retailer at six store locations in three cities: Cleveland, OH, Denver, CO; and Seattle, WA. Shoppers were intercepted as they approached the store entrance and were offered a $5 dollar gift certificate to participate in the study. The early part of the questionnaire, reported here, included several questions on exposure to the ad, readership of the ad, and whether the ad was the reason for this shopping trip to the store. The remainder of the questionnaire dealt with purchase intentions and actual purchase behavior. 2319 shoppers provided usable questionnaires.

This study examines research papers presented at AAA conferences from 1985 through 1990 as a measure of scholarly productivity. The findings show that the top research universities compare favorably with a recent study of article productivity, but the individual scholars differ substantially. The paper suggests that the scholars represented by paper presentations may be a different group of scholars who, among other things, may be associated with institutions more willing to pay travel expenses for paper presentations, or which place a high value on paper presentations. As a consequence, it is important that research paper presentations be examined in any measure of research productivity by individuals.

This is a reflective, philosophical look at the author's career attempts to influence advertising practice. It presents a discussion and rationale in support of his conclusions that (1) it would be helpful to the field if more academic researchers adopted and pursued the goal of influencing advertising practice, and yet (2) some advertising researchers who say they are doing so probably are not pursuing such goal realistically and/or are subject to certain drawbacks of doing practitioner-relevant research, and thus might be better off to take their satisfaction in the kind of "pure" or "basic" research that does not take such relevance as its immediate goal.

While the predicted electronic marketing revolution of the 1980s has turned into an uneven revolution, applications of relevant technology for advertising and sales promotion have proven successful and hold continued promise for the 1990s. This paper provides an overview of the evolution of electronic advertising and sales promotion systems in the retail setting. Opportunities, threats and challenges facing advertisers and retailers in exploiting such applications, in the decade of the 1990s, are also addressed.

Studies of the effectiveness of retail food ads (features) have been limited because of the difficult nature of adjusting important merchandising activity and extent of distribution at the point of purchase. In addition, the traditional use of sales as a dependent measure fails to adjust for the dynamic changes in consumer packaged good markets. This study uses multinomial logit analysis on brand share to overcome these problems, and finds surprising limited nature of advertising as compared to price and distribution on brand share changes. Store level scanner data is used.

Results from a large mail survey show the in-home shopper is younger and more affluent that twenty years ago. The in-home shopper is also more likely to be found in small towns and rural areas. Media usage patterns of the in-home shopper appear to be identical to other shoppers.

As the buying public grows more aware of the effects of its buying actions on the natural environment, commercial interests have been stepping in to exploit the people's tendency to want to protect their environment. The resulting posturings and product positioning are often low in substance and high in hyperbole. This paper examines the themes and methods that are being used in advertising to redefine products as "green" products. the paper examines how these tendencies to turn serious environmental considerations into seemingly trivial product attributes affects the credibility of the seriousness of the underlying issues. In addition, possible benefits of some questionable practices are suggested.

For most firms, relying on market mechanisms, there is simply no "off" button. The potential gains are too tempting, the potential downside is largely diffused through imprecise feedback mechanisms underlaid by general citizen apathy and/or acquiescence. If one accepts this thinking, then the ethicist wishing to confront commercialism will not generally be able to mount a convincing argument relying on "natural" market utilitarianism as expressed through individual decision making.

This past year saw the successful launch of a new magazine and the formation of a public interest think tank and advocacy organization, each content to counter commercialism and advertising's role and influence in our contemporary culture. The goals, resources and activities of each of these nascent institutions are briefly described and were illustrated with sample issues, ads, and brochures. Adbusters is a non-profit quarterly magazine intent "to change the way we think about advertising." Motivated the observation that "in spite of the (ecological) forces imperiling our planet, advertisers are telling people to consume more than ever," the magazine provides a forum for people concerned about advertising such as "environmentalists who want to break the consumption binge, women who are fed up with the way they are portrayed in ads, and parents and teachers who are fighting the battle against the values advertising encourages in children." Distributed to 1,000 educators, environmentalists, business leaders, and advertising agencies by the Media Foundation, this 72 to 96 paged medium has completed four issues of Volume 1. It provides an "environmental strategist" column, advertising satire, and articles with provocative titles such as: The McBraining of America, American Excess, The Buy-ological Urge, The Casino Society, Guerrilla Advertising, etc. It is provocative with its education of environmentalists and several ongoing campaigns such as "Tubehead" PSA campaign of TV addiction. A recent issue also launched "The Dirty Dozen" campaign which calls for the boycott of the top twelve magazines most supported by, and hence supportive of, the cigarette industry. For more editorial or subscription information contact: The Media Foundation, 1243 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6H lB7, (604) 736-9401. The Center for the Study of Commercialism (CSC) has been formed in Washington, D.C. "to draw the public's attention to the insidiousness of advertising." Initiated by the experienced advocates of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, CSC already has a distinguished board of directors and advisors to "study, monitor, document, publicize, and seek to stop commercial interests from taking over..." In establishing its agenda, priorities and tactics "to challenge rampant commercialism in a systematic, persistent way, "it is considering mass media publicity, public service announcements, specialized conferences, TV specials, popular books, and school curriculum materials. It also contemplates a legislative and regulatory agenda at both national and state levels addressing advertising taxation, advertising to children, covert promotional placements, so called "infomercials," and alcohol and tobacco advertising. For more information, contact: Michael Jacobson, Director, Center for the Study of Commercialism, 1875 Connecticut Avenue-NW, Washington, D.C., 20009, (202) 332-9110.

The validity of the thought-listing technique for measuring cognitive responses is examined. Greenwald's (1968) target X origin X polarity coding dimensions, as well as newer categories are reviewed in light of current theory. The question of internal validity is discussed considering typical methods of qualifying the listed thoughts. Finally, recommendations for new content categories, coding of the listed thoughts, and assessment of the internal validity of the thought-listing technique as a measure of cognitive responding are made.

While the "ideal" product has been frequently used in advertising research to determine the position of competitive brands, the "undesired" product has received no attention. The "undesired" product is based upon actual experience and is therefore less abstract and more concrete than the "ideal" product. This study compared the relationship between perceived distance between a radio station and its "ideal' and its preference to the relationship between the perceived distance between the station and its "undesired" and its preference. The "ideal" distance measure was found to have a more powerful relationship. However, the results indicated that the "undesired" product distance may be a better predictor for research subjects who are "abstract" thinkers while "ideal" distance is the preferred measure for research with "concrete" thinking subjects. Direction for future research is provided.

Although many studies of telephone-interviewing techniques have appeared in the marketing and advertising literature, most have focused on metropolitan samples. This article reports the results of two surveys designed to focus on a research issue of particular interest to marketers who compete in nonmetropolitan markets, namely local media organizations, local and regional retailers, non-profit and governmental organizations, and regional utility companies and cooperatives. The surveys explored the question of whether demographic, media-exposure, advertising-receptivity, and purchase-related characteristics distinguish listed nonmetropolitan telephone subscribers from their voluntarily unlisted counterparts. While directory-listed and -unlisted nonmetro dwellers were found to have more in common than those listed and unlisted individuals described in published research, the results of this study provide further evidence that market information based only on directory-listed samples can lead to erroneous marketing decisions.

Business-to-business advertising has long been the backwater of advertising. Business-to-business advertising is slowly emerging from the shadow of consumer advertising, however. Given what is an apparent growth in the interest in business-to-business advertising, what is needed to facilitate the development of more and better research on the topic? One necessary requirement is a better articulation of the objectives served by business-to-business advertising.

First, we will describe a fairly ambitious research agenda that is intended to contribute to our general understanding of business-to-business advertising. Second, we will present preliminary findings from a series of interviews conducted with agency managers.

The development of advertising as an institution in the Soviet Union is directly tied to the success of economic reform. In concept, Perestroika, is the process of reformation; in practice it is a process of restructuring that includes a reformulation of bureaucratic functions. Perestroika has affected the communications industry as illustrated by the evolution of a Soviet model of advertising based on the Western model. This paper reflects the changes in the advertising process from 1968- 1974 to 1990. It identifies the problems encountered in exporting western philosophies of advertising management to a culturally and economically diverse Soviet advertising system.

The debate over standardized versus specialized advertising campaign s has been fueled by the lack of any explicit mechanism for studying how culture is reflected in advertising. In this paper the author examines ten cultural values from an East\West perspective and hypothesizes how these values might be expressed in advertising. A framework is offered as a starting point for researchers interested in analyzing the underlying cultural content of advertisements in a systematic way.

This paper reviews the empirical literature on advertising standardization. Areas examined include the influence of corporate variables (such as structure and managerial attitudes), country variables (such as culture and market structure) and advertising specific variables (such as media and message elements). Accomplishments and gaps of the literature are discussed. Next, a normative model that outlines how these variables are interrelated in advertising decision-making is offered. Finally, suggestions for further research that would enhance our understanding of issues pertaining to advertising standardization are included.

This paper reports on two studies using participant observation to record television viewing behavior with particular attention to the viewing of commercials. The data were analyzed by developing cognitive scripts of the sessions and interpreting generalized patterns of viewing as metascripts. These studies indicate that viewer disinterest is the biggest problem facing television programs and commercials; furthermore, disinterest plagues commercials twice as much as programs. Grazing is used more often than flipping to avoid commercials and muting was rarely used.

The widespread adoption of remote controls and VCRs has spurred increased interest in mechanical avoidance of television commercials. However, it is unlikely that these technological changes ended the problem of physical avoidance of television advertising. An exploratory telephone survey assessing zipping, zapping and leaving the room during commercials suggests that ignoring either physical or mechanical avoidance of television commercials will greatly inflate audience estimates of television advertising.

VISUAL IMAGES AND PRODUCT ASSOCIATIONS IN MAGAZINE ADS FOR ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO: A STUDY OF CONSUMER PERCEPTION (pp. 1 - 8, 1991)
Timothy P. Meyer

This study has examined the response of consumers to the images in cigarette and alcohol ads. Consumers noted product associations with and without the product being present; they also tried to correctly guess the product type or specific brand being advertised. The results showed that common images used in magazine advertising, including those used by tobacco and alcohol advertisers, yielded consumer guesses that were generally incorrect as to the product type and specific brand.

This paper reports the results of a survey of nonprofit managers regarding their perceptions of the use and effectiveness of explicit and implied comparative advertising messages. Managers were found to be significantly more negative toward the use of explicit comparisons. This result to contrary to previous research which shows that for-profit managers are more favorable toward the use of explicit comparisons.

The results of our study indicate that nonprofit managers do not want to use comparative advertising because it might "break the rules" of conduct operating in their environments. However, managers may become more amenable to this technique if it was shown to be effective in empirical research.

This session addressed the issues surrounding the competitive nature of advertising copywriting, including problems, opportunities, approaches, placement and other issues that relate in both an academic and a professional environment. The objective was to provide an environment wherein information could be shared among the panelists about advertising copywriting. Six questions were asked of four panelists. The panel was made up of two advertising professors who teach copywriting on a regular basis and two working professionals-One a working copywriter, and the other a professional creative recruiter.

This study outlines the various routes of advertisers into high school and junior high school classrooms. Criticisms against advertisements targeted towards teens have been many. Yet, no end to these commercial messages in the classroom is in sight. To enable instructors to make the best use of such messages, a framework for the analysis of both manifest and latent advertising content is outlined. Use of such a framework could enhance the educational experiences of students and help them become more discriminating consumers of both commercials in classrooms, and more importantly, commercials in every day life outside the classroom. The framework was applied to the commercials aired during the five-week pilot broadcast of Whittle Communication's Channel One. Channel One is a daily 12-minute television news program - complete with two minutes of advertising - produced for high school students. The authors coded the products and services advertised, bow the commercials were structured, what formats and appeals were used and what values were present. A semiotic analysis of an advertisement was also provided.

This paper examines the incidence of television advertising for food products with potentially ambiguous terms in the brand name. Although many commercials provide some type of definition for what these terms mean, the definitions are often abstract and inconsistent across brands. This situation opens the door for consumers to draw inferences and to miscomprehend the commercials.

A longitudinal analysis of Third Class postal rates, Third Class advertising mail volume, and population levels showed that postal rate increases have occurred simultaneously with, preceded, as well as followed increases in Third Class mail advertising volume. However, when the effects of population levels were partialled out, the findings showed a significant relationship only in the instance where postal rate increases were preceded by increases in Third Class advertising mail volume. The results suggested that there is some merit to the argument of postal authorities that Third Class rates are raised because of increased labor costs demanded by increases in mail volume.

This study uses identical 25-item semantic differential scales to explore the images evoked by individual celebrity endorsers and products, and then to explore the impact of combining celebrity and product images. Each celebrity/product pair was evaluated on a seven-point scale with the endpoints representing an "extremely descriptive" characteristic. The results of this study indicate that Christie Brinkley and Madonna are perceived as having vastly different images and identical products they endorse, tend to be perceived as possessing attributes similar to the respective endorser. The effect of endorsements was pronounced; in the majority of cases, the evaluation of the celebrity endorsed product more closely represented the separate evaluation of the endorser than the separate evaluation of the product. The implications of this finding are discussed.

Use of advertising spokes-characters -fictional animated personalities such as Mickey Mouse, the Pillsbury Doughboy, and the Keebler Elves - has been a constant in the advertising industry, suggesting a need for research on their effectiveness. Although most existing research on source effects does not address the spokes- character specifically, this literature serves as the basis for a spokes-character classification scheme and exploratory study. The proposed typology distinguishes between celebrity and non-celebrity spokes-characters. An exploratory study indicates that the celebrity status of the spokes-character negatively affects product recall. Support was also found for spokes-character likeability affecting purchase intent, although it did not significantly affect product recall.

The advertising during the XXIV Super Bowl was examined to determine the effectiveness of using sports celebrity appeal in television commercials. The empirical results clearly indicate that sports celebrities have the potential to be very effective.

The findings from this study appear to indicate that translating a commercial from English to Spanish seems to make the commercial somewhat easier to understand for Hispanic viewers but this does not translate into differences in attitudes toward the commercial.

By the year 2000, Hispanics will be the second largest ethnic group in the U.S. and the fastest growing with nearly 35 million and will have purchasing power valued just under $500 billion. Yet, the market continues to be underutilized. This paper examines current trends in the Hispanic market and identifies key problem areas that will require clarification and some resolution to ensure the vitality and growth of the market. Also discussed are the conditions under which advertising and promotion can play influential roles in propelling this market segment into its deserved position of prominence.

A comparison between British and American television advertising was undertaken to determine if their advertising styles and techniques differ. A large sample of advertisements from the two countries was content analyzed and examined according to the Foote, Cone and Belding (FCB) planning matrix of product involvement (high/low) and product emotionality (thinking/feeling). The results show that advertising styles do vary substantially and systematically between the contingent decision making FCB cells. The outcome provides only partial support to the widely held view that British ads are oriented more toward a soft sell than US ads. Specifically, the ads in both countries changed their orientation from a factual to an entertainment focus as products moved high involvement/thinking toward low involvement/emotional categories. The major difference between the countries was revealed in the high involvement/ emotional product cell where US ads took a decidedly factual orientation while U.K. ads primarily used an entertainment dominant focus.

This content analysis used the Resnik-Stern (1977) classification scheme to investigate the informativeness of magazine ads from Germany and Greece and make comparisons with U.S. ads. Based on the Resnik-Stern definition of an "informative" ad (presence of at least one information cue) findings from all three national samples were "informative." "Performance" and "components/contents" cues were prevalent in ads of all three countries. More Greek ads had the "availability" cue than German or U.S. ads; German ads showed a significantly greater incidence of the "quality" cue; and ads in the U.S. sample had significantly more of the "price/value" and "special offers" cues. In all three countries, informativeness varied by magazine type and by product category.

The initial participants in the standardization debate largely argued their case qualitatively, A few empirical studies were done; these investigated the actual practice of standardization. Later studies focused on the consumer and consumer responses to products/advertising in different parts of the world. The early phase of the debate was also marked, to some extent, by the lack of an operational definition of standardization. As clearer distinctions began to be made between marketing and advertising standardization, a new type of study became common: the analysis of advertising (domestic and foreign) content for themes, execution styles, and so on. The present study derives from this tradition. It compares the information content of American and Japanese television commercials, particularly by strategy, and finds both similarities and differences. If standardization implies an absolutist position [universality in advertising strategy (i.e., message) and tactics], then this study argues that the differences warrant caution in the adoption of standardization.

Attitudes toward the ad (Aad) has been hypothesized to be a mediator of advertising's effect on both brand attitudes and purchase intentions. However, people may have different opinions toward the advertising carried by different media which could impact both the formation and the direction of Aad The attitudes that individuals have toward the advertising carried by different media may also impact media consumption patterns. This paper presents the development and test of a scale which assesses attitudes toward radio advertising (ATRA).

Recent research suggests that motivation and ability influence ad processing. This paper presents results of a study which investigated the impacts of goal-directed processing (motivation) and product-class knowledge (ability) on receiver's cognitive responses to attribute-based ads. Results are discussed in light of current developments in ad processing.

Program arousal and program pleasantness jointly affected viewers' evaluation of commercial pleasantness for the group of commercials. The results suggest that the highly arousing, pleasant/unpleasant programs used in this research induced viewers to feel both aroused and pleasant/unpleasant. These feelings, in turn, influenced viewers' evaluation of emotionally neutral commercials.

The advertising industry has long informally valued intuition as an important problem-solving tool, particularly in the development of strategy and messages. Advertising also provides an excellent environment for studying intuition because it routinely employs a variety of problem-solving approaches in addition to intuition. The creative and media planning functions within the advertising industry offer a unique opportunity to study seemingly opposite problem-solving approaches within the same environment. To this end, a mail survey was conducted of leading creative and media directors from the top 500 U.S. advertising agencies. Correlates of intuitive behavior were examined overall and in relation to the creative and media functions.

In order to validate the validity of creative strategy constructs, a questionnaire consisting of 43 items representing each of the constructs was developed. A confirmatory factor analysis was done to test whether the items correlated with each other in the manner suggested by the theory versus the way that contradicted it. It was determined that the model was satisfactory.

As the result of an ongoing technological revolution, the computer is now one of the major devices used in conceptualizing, developing, and producing materials for both the print and electronic mass communications media. The designer's involvement with the computer is an integral part of this movement. New designers are required to have computing skills to step into the changing field. Universities and design schools can no longer teach traditional production methods to prepare students for entry into any of the visual communications industries. Research exists that explores the creative processes of the writer while working at the word processor. However, there is no empirically supported literature that attempts to understand the relationship between the artist and the design station. A consensus is lacking as to whether the computer is indeed a medium unto itself or a device operating solely to enhance other media. Much work lies ahead in defining where the computer fits into either the creative process or where computer generated images fit into our visual communications vocabulary. This paper proposes an approach to researching the effect, if any, that the computer as a tool is having on the creative process of design.

The objective of this special session is to examine the current status of ethnic minority advertising and consumer behavior research in the United States. As the United States is experiencing more and more ethnic diversities these days, efforts to study and gain understanding of the various ethnic cultures have been on the increase. The mere size of the minorities and the intercultural exchanges between the majority and the minority groups have and will continue to define and redefine many aspects of our society. Indeed, the rapid growth of these segments of the population will likely have increasing impact on the U.S. in years to come. While it is true that ethnic minority studies are gaining attention these days, they have also suffered from compartmentalized theorization as a consequence of disciplinary loyalty. This is manifested in the definitions of the key terms, methods of examination, ethnic groups compared, and the various dimensions of the dependent measures. Indeed, over the years, a variety of terms such as acculturation, ethnic identification/affiliation, country-of-origin, ethnic assimilation, and alienation have all been employed to study consumption-related attitudes, values, and behaviors of members from different cultural groups. The research methodologies employed are almost as diverse as the ways in which definitions are operationalized. Clearly a lack of consistent conceptualization and measurement has produced a fragmented picture of how consumers in the various ethnic groups think, feel and behave. The session therefore attempted to provide an active forum for discussion on issues of theories, methodologies and practices on ethnic minority research and, in the process, accomplish two tasks. First, by examining existing theories and methodologies, we will be able to synthesize what has been accomplished so far in advancing our knowledge of the different ethnic minority groups in the U.S. and suggest alternative perspectives for further research. Secondly, by providing empirical evidence and practical examples, we will identify relevant and urgent issues to be addressed in future ethnic minority advertising and consumer behavior research. Therefore, the four papers presented in this session addressed the current status of ethnic minority research from different perspectives and suggested alternatives or refinements.

Negative political advertising has been extremely effective in influencing voters' preferences in some races, but relatively ineffective in others. This indicates that the impact of these ads is likely to be contingent on other factors. To date, research examining factors that can influence the magnitude of effects occurring from exposure to negative political advertising has been limited to attributes of the message. However, the degree to which negative ads influence voting decisions can also be effected by characteristics of the voters themselves. This study examined some potentially important voter attributes political engagement, campaign involvement and attention to news in both newspapers and on television. A survey of registered voters during a senatorial campaign was used to examine the effect these variables. Respondents were asked about the impact of four specific negative ads used in this race on their voting intents regarding each of the two candidates. Regression analysis indicated that political engagement, campaign involvement and attention to television news are positively related to the degree to which negative political ads influenced voting decisions. Attention to newspaper news reduces the impact of negative ads, but only after controlling for the other variables.

Current discussions surrounding the pervasiveness of negative political advertising in recent federal and state campaigns have noted growing concern over its effect on the American electorate. As a means to investigate the mechanics of negative political advertising, the author attempts to integrate the literature of political symbolism as a framework from which to research political advertising's impact on the voting public. The author first presents revised definitions of positive and negative political advertising which reflect the trust relationship between the candidate and the voter, and then outlines the various forms of political symbols as they are currently used. Next, a discussion of how political symbols naturally emerge or are manufactured by political advertisers is offered. The paper then contrasts the ways these symbols can be used to form either positive or negative political messages, and explores the models political advertisers use to manipulate the trust relationship to either forge or break the bond of trust between voters and candidates. Finally, three areas for future research are set forth.

On September 11, 1990, Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy, the highest ranking woman in Massachusetts's politics, withdrew from the gubernatorial primary. Her withdrawal ended a campaign that had helped focus attention on the issue of money in campaigns-specifically on controllable activities that money can buy, such as advertising, and on the less controllable activities that money cannot buy, like news coverage. Murphy's campaign ran out of money; "her financial resources virtually dried up. She scraped together enough funds for one last purchase of television time in late summer, but she could not compete with the fundraising operations of Bellotti or Silber" (Loth 1990, p. 1). Yet, when her dollars ran out, she turned to classic, traditional public relations-the staging of activities to generate free media coverage. "Two weeks before the primaries, she finally provoked a public clash with Dukakis, and that tactic won Murphy more free attention than at any time in her campaign (Loth 1990, p. 25). According to columnist Ellen Goodman, the campaign brought sharply into focus the issue of the relative effectiveness of paid media, like advertising, and the so-called non-paid media, like generating news coverage (1990).

The purpose of the session was to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of an emerging trend in advertising scholarship that attempts to combine and integrate the traditions of literary criticism, studies in popular culture, culture and mythology, art criticism, and other areas once loosely labeled as "interpretive studies." The interest in advertising from these perspectives is apparent in the increase in journal articles and conference papers on these more "critical" approaches to the study of advertising in recent years.

"The Brand Persona: A Literary View of Source Characteristics and Advertising Effects,"
Barbara B. Stern

"Pop Art and Canned Culture: The Art of Commodification,"
Linda M. Scott

"Volkswagen as Little Man,"
Bruce G. Vanden Bergh

Today, I would like to discuss the special opportunities and difficulties in applying traditional advertising and marketing principles in designing AIDS communication campaigns using illustrations from developing countries.

This study, conducted in 1983, was designed to help identify target prospects for a new women's magazine distributed through supermarkets and similar checkout locations. This report covers only one aspect of a much larger study.

During the summer of 1990, a survey was conducted among the sales promotion managers of fifty of the top package goods companies in the United States. The goal of the survey was to determine the organizational structure of the promotional function and what changes were or might be occurring. A total of 44 interviews were completed (14 personal interviews and 31 through a mail instrument). The results were reported at a meeting of the Association of National Advertisers Sales Promotion Conference in Oak Brook, IL in October, 1990. The current organizational structure of the promotion function in the companies studied was of a functional design. Generally, the design consisted of a marketing services department which reported to a vice president of marketing. In the marketing services department, most organizations had functional department managers for advertising, sales promotion, marketing information, research and packaging/design. Commonly, sales promotion decisions for the organization are made four levels down in management (sales promotion manager recommends to marketing services manager who recommends to vice president of marketing who recommends to chief executive officer). The sales promotion manager's primary tasks include: 75% plan and implement multi-product promotions; 70% plan and implement brand budgeted programs; 65% consult only, generally with brand managers. Some radical changes are being tested in the organizational structure in the sales promotion function. In four of the cases studied, the new organizational structure consists of three operating units (marketing implementation; marketing planning and sales) under a vice president of marketing. These three units are all at the same reporting level. The marketing planning unit is responsible for long-term planning (three to five years out) for all the brands. The marketing implementation group is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the brand, including all communications functions. The sales group is responsible for sales of the branded products. All three groups work together to develop and implement sales and communication programs for the company's brands and the overall corporate organization. Inherent in these new structures are major changes in how promotional programs are developed and implemented in consumer product companies in the future. These include: (1) promotion will become more important in the organization's allocation process; (2) promotion planning will be more long-term; (3) there will be more focus on brand building; (4) promotion managers will be more involved in planning and strategy and (5) there will be more emphasis on measuring the effectiveness of the promotional programs.

During the summer of 1990 the authors did an advertising impact study for a major retailer at six store locations in three cities: Cleveland, OH, Denver, CO; and Seattle, WA. Shoppers were intercepted as they approached the store entrance and were offered a $5 dollar gift certificate to participate in the study. The early part of the questionnaire, reported here, included several questions on exposure to the ad, readership of the ad, and whether the ad was the reason for this shopping trip to the store. The remainder of the questionnaire dealt with purchase intentions and actual purchase behavior. 2319 shoppers provided usable questionnaires.

This study examines research papers presented at AAA conferences from 1985 through 1990 as a measure of scholarly productivity. The findings show that the top research universities compare favorably with a recent study of article productivity, but the individual scholars differ substantially. The paper suggests that the scholars represented by paper presentations may be a different group of scholars who, among other things, may be associated with institutions more willing to pay travel expenses for paper presentations, or which place a high value on paper presentations. As a consequence, it is important that research paper presentations be examined in any measure of research productivity by individuals.

This is a reflective, philosophical look at the author's career attempts to influence advertising practice. It presents a discussion and rationale in support of his conclusions that (1) it would be helpful to the field if more academic researchers adopted and pursued the goal of influencing advertising practice, and yet (2) some advertising researchers who say they are doing so probably are not pursuing such goal realistically and/or are subject to certain drawbacks of doing practitioner-relevant research, and thus might be better off to take their satisfaction in the kind of "pure" or "basic" research that does not take such relevance as its immediate goal.

While the predicted electronic marketing revolution of the 1980s has turned into an uneven revolution, applications of relevant technology for advertising and sales promotion have proven successful and hold continued promise for the 1990s. This paper provides an overview of the evolution of electronic advertising and sales promotion systems in the retail setting. Opportunities, threats and challenges facing advertisers and retailers in exploiting such applications, in the decade of the 1990s, are also addressed.

Studies of the effectiveness of retail food ads (features) have been limited because of the difficult nature of adjusting important merchandising activity and extent of distribution at the point of purchase. In addition, the traditional use of sales as a dependent measure fails to adjust for the dynamic changes in consumer packaged good markets. This study uses multinomial logit analysis on brand share to overcome these problems, and finds surprising limited nature of advertising as compared to price and distribution on brand share changes. Store level scanner data is used.

Results from a large mail survey show the in-home shopper is younger and more affluent that twenty years ago. The in-home shopper is also more likely to be found in small towns and rural areas. Media usage patterns of the in-home shopper appear to be identical to other shoppers.

As the buying public grows more aware of the effects of its buying actions on the natural environment, commercial interests have been stepping in to exploit the people's tendency to want to protect their environment. The resulting posturings and product positioning are often low in substance and high in hyperbole. This paper examines the themes and methods that are being used in advertising to redefine products as "green" products. the paper examines how these tendencies to turn serious environmental considerations into seemingly trivial product attributes affects the credibility of the seriousness of the underlying issues. In addition, possible benefits of some questionable practices are suggested.

For most firms, relying on market mechanisms, there is simply no "off" button. The potential gains are too tempting, the potential downside is largely diffused through imprecise feedback mechanisms underlaid by general citizen apathy and/or acquiescence. If one accepts this thinking, then the ethicist wishing to confront commercialism will not generally be able to mount a convincing argument relying on "natural" market utilitarianism as expressed through individual decision making.

This past year saw the successful launch of a new magazine and the formation of a public interest think tank and advocacy organization, each content to counter commercialism and advertising's role and influence in our contemporary culture. The goals, resources and activities of each of these nascent institutions are briefly described and were illustrated with sample issues, ads, and brochures. Adbusters is a non-profit quarterly magazine intent "to change the way we think about advertising." Motivated the observation that "in spite of the (ecological) forces imperiling our planet, advertisers are telling people to consume more than ever," the magazine provides a forum for people concerned about advertising such as "environmentalists who want to break the consumption binge, women who are fed up with the way they are portrayed in ads, and parents and teachers who are fighting the battle against the values advertising encourages in children." Distributed to 1,000 educators, environmentalists, business leaders, and advertising agencies by the Media Foundation, this 72 to 96 paged medium has completed four issues of Volume 1. It provides an "environmental strategist" column, advertising satire, and articles with provocative titles such as: The McBraining of America, American Excess, The Buy-ological Urge, The Casino Society, Guerrilla Advertising, etc. It is provocative with its education of environmentalists and several ongoing campaigns such as "Tubehead" PSA campaign of TV addiction. A recent issue also launched "The Dirty Dozen" campaign which calls for the boycott of the top twelve magazines most supported by, and hence supportive of, the cigarette industry. For more editorial or subscription information contact: The Media Foundation, 1243 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6H lB7, (604) 736-9401. The Center for the Study of Commercialism (CSC) has been formed in Washington, D.C. "to draw the public's attention to the insidiousness of advertising." Initiated by the experienced advocates of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, CSC already has a distinguished board of directors and advisors to "study, monitor, document, publicize, and seek to stop commercial interests from taking over..." In establishing its agenda, priorities and tactics "to challenge rampant commercialism in a systematic, persistent way, "it is considering mass media publicity, public service announcements, specialized conferences, TV specials, popular books, and school curriculum materials. It also contemplates a legislative and regulatory agenda at both national and state levels addressing advertising taxation, advertising to children, covert promotional placements, so called "infomercials," and alcohol and tobacco advertising. For more information, contact: Michael Jacobson, Director, Center for the Study of Commercialism, 1875 Connecticut Avenue-NW, Washington, D.C., 20009, (202) 332-9110.

The validity of the thought-listing technique for measuring cognitive responses is examined. Greenwald's (1968) target X origin X polarity coding dimensions, as well as newer categories are reviewed in light of current theory. The question of internal validity is discussed considering typical methods of qualifying the listed thoughts. Finally, recommendations for new content categories, coding of the listed thoughts, and assessment of the internal validity of the thought-listing technique as a measure of cognitive responding are made.

While the "ideal" product has been frequently used in advertising research to determine the position of competitive brands, the "undesired" product has received no attention. The "undesired" product is based upon actual experience and is therefore less abstract and more concrete than the "ideal" product. This study compared the relationship between perceived distance between a radio station and its "ideal' and its preference to the relationship between the perceived distance between the station and its "undesired" and its preference. The "ideal" distance measure was found to have a more powerful relationship. However, the results indicated that the "undesired" product distance may be a better predictor for research subjects who are "abstract" thinkers while "ideal" distance is the preferred measure for research with "concrete" thinking subjects. Direction for future research is provided.

Although many studies of telephone-interviewing techniques have appeared in the marketing and advertising literature, most have focused on metropolitan samples. This article reports the results of two surveys designed to focus on a research issue of particular interest to marketers who compete in nonmetropolitan markets, namely local media organizations, local and regional retailers, non-profit and governmental organizations, and regional utility companies and cooperatives. The surveys explored the question of whether demographic, media-exposure, advertising-receptivity, and purchase-related characteristics distinguish listed nonmetropolitan telephone subscribers from their voluntarily unlisted counterparts. While directory-listed and -unlisted nonmetro dwellers were found to have more in common than those listed and unlisted individuals described in published research, the results of this study provide further evidence that market information based only on directory-listed samples can lead to erroneous marketing decisions.

Business-to-business advertising has long been the backwater of advertising. Business-to-business advertising is slowly emerging from the shadow of consumer advertising, however. Given what is an apparent growth in the interest in business-to-business advertising, what is needed to facilitate the development of more and better research on the topic? One necessary requirement is a better articulation of the objectives served by business-to-business advertising.

First, we will describe a fairly ambitious research agenda that is intended to contribute to our general understanding of business-to-business advertising. Second, we will present preliminary findings from a series of interviews conducted with agency managers.

The development of advertising as an institution in the Soviet Union is directly tied to the success of economic reform. In concept, Perestroika, is the process of reformation; in practice it is a process of restructuring that includes a reformulation of bureaucratic functions. Perestroika has affected the communications industry as illustrated by the evolution of a Soviet model of advertising based on the Western model. This paper reflects the changes in the advertising process from 1968- 1974 to 1990. It identifies the problems encountered in exporting western philosophies of advertising management to a culturally and economically diverse Soviet advertising system.

The debate over standardized versus specialized advertising campaign s has been fueled by the lack of any explicit mechanism for studying how culture is reflected in advertising. In this paper the author examines ten cultural values from an East\West perspective and hypothesizes how these values might be expressed in advertising. A framework is offered as a starting point for researchers interested in analyzing the underlying cultural content of advertisements in a systematic way.

This paper reviews the empirical literature on advertising standardization. Areas examined include the influence of corporate variables (such as structure and managerial attitudes), country variables (such as culture and market structure) and advertising specific variables (such as media and message elements). Accomplishments and gaps of the literature are discussed. Next, a normative model that outlines how these variables are interrelated in advertising decision-making is offered. Finally, suggestions for further research that would enhance our understanding of issues pertaining to advertising standardization are included.

This paper reports on two studies using participant observation to record television viewing behavior with particular attention to the viewing of commercials. The data were analyzed by developing cognitive scripts of the sessions and interpreting generalized patterns of viewing as metascripts. These studies indicate that viewer disinterest is the biggest problem facing television programs and commercials; furthermore, disinterest plagues commercials twice as much as programs. Grazing is used more often than flipping to avoid commercials and muting was rarely used.

The widespread adoption of remote controls and VCRs has spurred increased interest in mechanical avoidance of television commercials. However, it is unlikely that these technological changes ended the problem of physical avoidance of television advertising. An exploratory telephone survey assessing zipping, zapping and leaving the room during commercials suggests that ignoring either physical or mechanical avoidance of television commercials will greatly inflate audience estimates of television advertising.