Sejung Marina Choi

LESSONS FROM THE RICH AND FAMOUS: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Celebrity Endorsement in Advertising

Using celebrities to promote products is a popular advertising technique around the world. However, little is known about how the implementation of celebrity endorsement varies according to dominant cultural values. This study content-analyzed television commercials featuring celebrities from two diametrically different countries--the United States and Korea--in terms of two fundamental cultural dimensions: (1) low versus high context, and (2) individualism versus collectivism. Findings of this study suggest that the strategic use and creative executions of celebrity endorsement mirror the respective prevalent cultural orientations in the two countries, although some similarities do exist. Extensive discussion and suggestions for future research are provided.

Antecedents and Consequences of Web Advertising Credibility

ABSTRACT Rapid growth in online advertising revenues indicates the viability of World Wide Web advertising as an alternative to that of traditional media. Practitioners and academicians recognize that building credibility is important in this relatively new environment. To date, no academic research has explored the interplay of vehicle and advertiser source credibility in determining advertising effects on the web. The present study explores antecedents and consequences of online advertising credibility and examines the effects of (1) website credibility, (2) ad relevance (the advertised product’s relevance to website content), and (3) advertiser credibility on ad credibility, ad and brand attitudes, and product purchase intentions. Structural equation modeling systematically tested and refined a model representing interrelated relationships among the relevant variables. The results suggest that source credibility is vital to understanding web advertising effectiveness. Managerial implications and directions for future research are provided.

I smoke but i am not a smoker: Phantom smokers and the discrepancy between self-identity and behavior

Abstract Objective: This article presents the development of a new smoking status, the “phantom smokers,” who do not view themselves as smokers but report smoking cigarettes. Participants: Students from 2 universities in Michigan (N = 899; October 2005) and Florida (N = 1,517; May 2006) participated in surveys. Methods: Respondents in Michigan completed measures regarding smoking status and tobacco use, and respondents in Florida completed measures regarding smoking status, tobacco use, smoking consequences, and norms. Results: The studies identify the incidence of phantom smokers (29.6% in Michigan and 5.5% in Florida). Different questions resulted in different smoking rates. Phantom smokers expect more negative affect reduction and social facilitation from smoking than nonsmokers. Phantom smokers display ambivalent attitudes toward a typical smokers image. They experience less pressure to change their smoking behavior than smokers. Conclusion: Phantom smokers’ dissociation from smokers should be recognized and targeted as a distinct group for antismoking messages.

Increasing Power and Preventing Pain

This research investigates how an individuals self-construal and self-regulatory focus interplay in determining advertising message persuasiveness. In Experiment 1, we examine the moderating role of an individuals chronically accessible self-construal with respect to regulatory focus. The results show that individuals with a dominant independent self-construal exhibit more positive attitudes toward a promotion-focused advertising message and the advocated brand, whereas individuals with a prevailing interdependent self-construal show more favorable attitudes toward a prevention-focused advertising message and the associated brand. While replicating Experiment 1, Experiment 2 lends further support for the observed relationship by temporarily priming self-construal through a series of contextual advertising images involving individual and team sports events. The findings reveal that individuals who are primed first by viewing individual sports events later evaluate the promotion-focused advertising message and the brand more positively; in contrast, those exposed to team sports events display more favorable evaluations of the prevention-focused advertising and attitude toward the brand. This suggests that situationally primed self-construal, in conjunction with regulatory focus, has a similar impact on advertising message effectiveness.