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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

D.Phil. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of the cognitive orientation in consumer behaviour, and thereby move towards a consumer-oriented context for the analysis of the communicated effects of advertisements. Advertising theory and research were reviewed, and the conclusion was drawn that the different variables studied by researchers represent unidimensional approaches which are seldom analysed within the integrated cognitive framework of the consumer. The various dimensions of the consumer's cognitive orientation were specified within an integrated theoretical framework formulated from various theories and findings with regard to cognitive factors such as attitudes, self-concept, motivation and learning. From this emerged two cognitive orientations, viz. a rational orientation which is characterized by price consciousness, performance risk, formal information seeking, etc. and a social orientation which is characterized by self-enhancement, normative and informal social influences, etc. It was hypothesized that the consumer's cognitive orientation is predictive of his evaluation of products (and consequently also of advertisements about products). It was, however, postulated that the cognitive orientation will also be influenced by the nature of particular products. A further implication of the theory was also taken into account, namely that the effects of advertising on cognition do not necessarily imply attitude change, but that the consumer's involvement with the product plays an important role. This resulted in another proposition, namely that the higher the product involvement, the greater the amount of information seeking, evaluation of alternatives, etc. The study was conducted according to these guidelines. The factorial structure of consumer orientation was firstly determined.

This study investigated the portrayal of men's and women's occupational roles and settings in magazine advertising from 1958-1988. A review of the literature revealed there was a need to update investigations focusing on women's working/nonworking roles. Moreover, there was a gap in the literature investigating the portrayal of men's roles. A content analysis of 240 randomly selected advertisements indicated there were no significant changes in the portrayal of occupational roles. However, the data suggest that the settings in which women were depicted changed more than the settings for men. The majority of the ads showed women in outside/recreational and no settings. Moreover, women were pictured in more varied settings than men including nontraditional portrayals. Although there was a slight increase in the portrayal of women in working roles, the increment was diminished in its significance by the high level of decorative role portrayals. According to past researchers, such a neutral portrayal may be a means of offending fewer consumers and avoiding making judgments about sex roles altogether.

M.Com. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This study explores the role that Seventeen magazine plays in the lives of its readers. More specifically, it investigates how the content and advertising in Seventeen influences the behaviour and identity development of Black, South African, teenage girls. This research focuses on three primary areas of study: • The role of the reader in message interpretation • The media’s role in identity development and behaviour • The socio-cultural influence of readers’ backgrounds on message interpretation and acceptance The research methodology of this study is primarily of a qualitative nature, using different methods of qualitative research to gather information. The data collected as part of the ethnographic research was linked to existing theoretical research regarding Reception Theories – including the ‘Hypodermic Needle’ model; ‘Uses and Gratifications’; and the ‘Active Audience’. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

This thesis presents the results of research which investigated how creative processes in advertising agencies are organized and the role aesthetic understandings play therein. Indepth accounts describing how creative processes in advertising agencies are organized were not well characterized in the extant literature. This was surprising, given the confusion that existed about whether or not advertising practitioners share similar tastes. Whereas some research suggests highly homogenous taste patterns, other research, reporting about severe conflicts in advertising agencies, suggests that the contrary is true. Consequently, also research on taste-making processes and thus the ways through which tastes and collective action are negotiated was missing. This research aims to address these gaps in the literature by providing an in-depth account of the way specific practices creative processes are organized by analysing how practices and tastes interlink as well as by providing insights into the ways through which taste and collective action are sustained at advertising agencies. To do so, qualitative research at a leading London-based advertising agency was carried out over a period of five months. Two sets of practices by which the advertising creative processes were organized were identified. In addition, four types of tensions between both sets of practices and thus different tastes among advertising practitioners, depending on the practices in which they were immersed, were found. Moreover, ways in which tensions were resolved and thus how different tastes were negotiated were identified. By doing so, this research closes the above gaps in the literature and reveals that at advertising agencies' creative processes and taste-making go hand in hand. Finally, practical insights for managers in the advertising industries, aiming to foster collective engagement, collaboration and conversations, and creative expression in creative advertising processes as well as suggestions for future research are offered.

M.A. (Linguistics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The practice of celebrity endorsement has been widely adopted in advertising industries around the world. In the Chinese advertising world, celebrity endorsement has been a commonly used strategy since 2010. Celebrities from the entertainment and sports industries have been frequently employed to promote messages about advertised brands or products. This is a traditional way of celebrity endorsement. Recently, however, the development of new media has led to the emergence of self-made micro-celebrities, termed 'online influencers' in this dissertation. Facing the popularity of online influencers in the digital world, marketing communication practitioners have started using them to advertise brands and products, and to engage target audiences in advertisements. A new way of celebrity endorsement has developed. As a result, advertisers need to make decisions on whether to adopt traditional celebrity endorsement or online influencer endorsement. In this regard, it is necessary to figure out which celebrity endorsement method, traditional celebrity or online influencer endorsement, is more persuasive. Our study aims to explore how celebrity-audience relational motives (information, entertainment, and involvement motives) interact with celebrity endorser's typology (traditional celebrities or online influencers) to determine the persuasiveness of celebrity endorsement appeals in advertising. The study's conceptual framework hypothesized that celebrity-audience relational motives play a determining role in the audiences' attitudes toward celebrities, whereas celebrity typology adjusts the impact of celebrity-audience relational motives on the audience's attitude toward celebrities. Also, it was theorized that audiences' attitudes toward celebrities would influence the persuasiveness of advertisements containing celebrity endorsements. In this causal relationship, the celebrity-product fit moderates its impact. A mixed methodology was applied in this dissertation. The first method used was qualitative personal interviews, conducted with 15 Chinese respondents between August 2018 and February 2019. This exploratory study's purpose was to get audience's insights on their perceptions of traditional celebrity and online influencer endorsement, and to develop a conceptual framework based on the empirical data. Results in the first exploratory study revealed that compared with online influencers, a much closer relationship was found between interviewees and traditional celebrities. Also, the overall affective evaluation of traditional celebrities and their endorsement appeal was found to be more positive than that of online influencers. The second study confirms that celebrity-audience relational motives significantly determine the audience's attitude toward celebrity endorsers. The stronger the relational motives are, the more positive audience's attitude could be. Besides, celebrity typology effectively moderates the impact of entertainment motive on attitude toward celebrity endorsers. Moreover, if audiences evaluated celebrity endorsers positively, the persuasiveness of advertising with celebrity endorsement would be significantly improved on both affective and behavioral levels. Furthermore, the celebrity-product fit further enhances the advertising persuasiveness. Based on the findings, theoretical and marketing communication implications are suggested to enlighten communication practitioners on how to select celebrity endorsers and what factors to consider to guarantee the persuasiveness of advertising through celebrity endorsement appeals.

The study determined how Thai and U.S. advertisements reflected women's attractiveness. Advertisements from the Thai and U.S. editions of Elle and Cosmopolitan magazines from January 2005 to January 2006 were analyzed using the content analysis method. The author created a code book with definitions of all categories to be used as guidelines for the analysis, an itemized code sheet, and training criteria. Two coders who were proficient in both Thai and English collected the data for the study. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilized as a tool to analyze the data gathered. Results indicated that there were both similarities and differences in the specifics, but what remained constant is the use of beautiful women to sell clothing and beauty products. The findings suggest that Thai and U.S. advertisers should apply the similiarities found in the study in their cross-cultural advertising campaigns. In addition, advertisers should be aware of differences and create advertisements that reflect attractiveness values of each culture.