Jef I. Richards

Oracles on “Advertising”: Searching for a Definition

Abstract Traditional definitions of advertising include a series of elements that distinguish the field from others. Each innovation in communication has been used for advertising, and in some way, each has changed advertising, which in turn has changed the set of elements used in its definition. However, there are or should be some essential elements that determine whether an activity is advertising. Unfortunately, a discussion identifying these elements is lacking in the marketing and advertising literature. This study is designed to begin an open discussion of what constitutes those essential elements, with the ultimate aim of constructing an improved definition of advertising. The Delphi method, originally developed for financial forecasting, is used to engage a diverse group of advertising experts in a dialogue to reconsider those elements and construct a new definition of advertising.

The Growing Commercialization of Schools: Issues and Practices

Over the past seven years there has been a tremendous influx of commercial marketing efforts in grades from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Other than anecdotal reports, little is known about the extent of these commercial efforts or about the attitudes of teachers, administrators, students, parents, and the public at large toward this increasing commercial presence. This article is intended to be the first in a series of research projects aimed at better understanding this phenomenon and its impact on children.

Economic Censorship and Free Speech: The Circle of Communication between Advertisers, Media, and Consumers

Abstract Anecdotal evidence of economic censorship (EC) is plentiful. It is well documented that media avoid certain topics, or even present biased news coverage, in acquiescence to advertiser demands. The result is diminished information for media users. Observers, explicitly or implicitly, have blamed the advertising industry for such “censorship.” Rather than examine just the monetary pressures placed on media, this paper considers the broader economic and communication dynamics involved in those media decisions. In exploring these issues, the authors posit a model which characterizes EC as an appropriate consequence of free speech, rather than an impingement on it.

Rankings of Advertising Programs by Advertising Educators

Many advertising practitioners have criticized advertising education, but it is unclear on what those opinions are based. Educators should be educating the industry about their programs, but that effort should concentrate on the most exemplary programs in the nation. Unfortunately, unlike other disciplines, advertising programs never have been ranked. A survey is presented which asked the heads of 143 advertising programs to rank both undergraduate and graduate advertising programs. Additional questions look at what these professors believe contributes to a quality advertising program.

Interactive Advertising Concentration

ABSTRACT The University of Texas Advertising Department introduced its first Internet advertising class in 1995. That class quickly became quite popular with students, and it helped them to find jobs in the quickly expanding market for Internet-related occupations. Since that time the Advertising Department has expanded its course offerings in this area, but with little coordination or unified goal. Beginning in Fall 2000, however, the Department is instituting an Interactive Advertising “concentration.” It appears to be the first such concentration in the U.S. This article describes the process that led to this innovation, the major considerations that went into its design, and the initial make-up of that concentration.

Public privacy and politics

Invasion of privacy is a serious, and sometimes frightening, concept for many people. It can evoke images of big brother, in the form of big business, knowing your most intimate secrets and even selling those secrets to others. Laws to guard against these personal violations have been slow in coming from the US government. A combination of consumer fears and sluggish federal response is nothing particularly new, but as with other such situations it has provided state and local officials a lever with which to pry public attention out of the hands of their federal counterparts.

The complex web of regulation in the US: the case of privacy

Privacy regulation involving the internet presently is a complex mix of Federal laws and laws of other countries, mixed with a tangle of self-regulation. With a long queue of bills pending in the Congress, and numerous State Attorneys General looking at adopting some form of privacy legislation, privacy is a hot-button issue among regulators. All of this policy interest, coupled with growing consumer concern over privacy – especially in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 – has led many firms to realise privacy no longer is a topic that can be ignored. In response, many companies have created a new senior level, corporate post to deal with privacy issues: the Chief Privacy Officer (CPO). In 2001, there were thought to be fewer than 100 people with the CPO title, or its equivalent. That number has grown dramatically and may now exceed 1000. The CPO title now exists in organisations across industries as diverse as health care, insurance, high tech, telecommunications, universities, hospitals, and others. Not only in the USA, but around the world, firms are creating this position to sort out the legal, ethiqcal and social issues with privacy. This paper looks at the role CPOs play in establishing both corporate privacy policy as well as public privacy policy. It also examines those industries that have embraced this approach to dealing with privacy concerns, and considers the implications of this new corporate position in the ongoing debate over privacy protections.

Misplaced marketing Read Homer Simpson’s lips: “Don’t do drugs!”

Questions the US Government’s (Office of National Drug Control Policy) legislation which encouraged broadcasters to run anti‐drug story lines in their programmes. By doing so, the broadcasters were allowed to reduce the number of legally required obligations to run anti‐drug commercials. The decision was made in response to the unpopular 1997 legislation which provided

Legal potholes on the information superhighway

1 billion to purchase anti‐drug commercials on the stipulation that broadcasters donate one time slot for every one bought. Asserts that messages supplied in story lines have not been measured in terms of their effectiveness in persuading the audience whereas targeted commercials have. Questions the motivations of the White House.