Advertising and Violence

Concepts and Perspectives

Nora J. Rifon, Marla Royne, Les Carlson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317477709
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Advertising
• Index: Business

Advertising and Violence identifies and analyzes the important issues related to violence in advertising and its overall effects on society. The book is based on a widely cited special issue of the Journal of Advertising and includes eight new chapters that expand the book's coverage.The objective of the book is to compile a compendium of current thinking, perspectives, theoretical viewpoints, and research relevant to the violence and advertising interface. The chapter authors, all notable experts in the field, take a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates perspectives from disciplines other than marketing in order to provide a broad-based view of how advertising and violence coalesce and the policy implications of this juxtaposition.

1

Introduction

Les Carlson, Nora J. Rifon, Marla B. Royne

This book is derived from and represents an extension of a special issue of the Journal of Advertising (JA) published in winter 2010 and edited by Nora J. Rifon, Marla B. Royne, and Les Carlson. This special issue was devoted to the topic of violence and advertising and contained eight articles. We believed then that development of the violence and advertising topic was a relevant and worthwhile endeavor that could have theoretical as well as practical implications and importance; the special issue initiative was a manifestation of those beliefs. We were pleased with the content and themes that arose from that issue.

However, we also endorse and agree with views expressed in both the academic and popular press that scientific research and discussion cannot be expected to proceed along a logical and ordered sequence that has as its result a “goal of truth” (Young 1990, p. 39). Indeed, Arbesman (2013) notes that “[s]cience is far from a continuous path toward the truth. Instead, we move forward in fits and starts, with long detours and dead ends, always revising what we know, always viewing it as provisional and potentially wrong” (p. C8).

We adopt these convergent perspectives as a basis for the development and genesis of this book—an extension to our special issue—because these views suggest that the process of scientific discovery is evolving, not definitive. Specifically, we continue to believe that building and considering an array of perspectives about violence and advertising is as necessary now as it was in 2010, and it is again appropriate and useful to extend thinking on this topic because of the ever evolving nature of this area.

Consequently, we attempt to bring together here, as we did in the JA special issue, a compilation of assessments from authors who have a vested interest in violence in advertising. This book is another effort to synthesize and coalesce current thinking and perspectives on this topic.

We believe, though, that our book significantly extends and adds to what was presented in the 2010 JA special issue. Specifically, readers will find in this book articles that were an integral part of the special issue along with other JA articles that were not in the special issue but share a focus on violence and advertising. In addition, and to expand on the special issue, we have invited papers from authors who were not in the special issue but who we believe offer unique, in-depth analyses of violence in form and content because of their distinctive backgrounds and interest in this topic. We think these invited papers in conjunction with other, new manuscripts plus articles from the original JA special issue and several subsequent issues of JA will provide a compendium of assessments of this important topic that heretofore has not been compiled in a single source. Thus, while this volume will not result in conclusive “truths” about violence and advertising, it will serve to stimulate further discussion and additional research in this area.

But why is a new book or a special JA issue devoted to violence and advertising even necessary? The authors in this book provide an array of extremely thoughtful and legitimate justifications for the perspectives on this topic. Yet one piece of evidence is particularly noteworthy, relevant, and perhaps even compelling.

Bushman and Anderson (2001) indicate, despite opinions to the contrary, that there is no longer any need for further debate on the relation between exposure to violence in the media (which, of course, includes advertising) and a detrimental outcome—that is, aggression. Rather, literature reviews and meta-analyses of the conjunction of aggression and media violence all point to the same conclusion. Specifically, Bushman and Anderson (2001) note that based on numerous studies since the mid-1970s, there is a positive link between depictions of media violence and aggression. Moreover, the magnitude of this relation has increased over time, not decreased. Perhaps even more important, the significance of the correlation between violence and aggression across studies is second only to the relation between smoking and lung cancer, and even supersedes the magnitude of correlations between more “obvious” relationships such as calcium consumption and increases in bone mass (Bushman and Anderson 2001).

We believe that the data compiled by Bushman and Anderson (2001) serves as an appropriate backdrop and motivation for this book. Evidence presented by these authors may indeed suggest that a “truth” has been uncovered based on extensive prior research in a variety of disciplines—that there is a palpable relation between depictions of violence and aggression. Yet such a conclusion, while intriguing and certainly important, should not stifle additional inquiry into the nuances of what this relation might suggest. That is, a “truth” could serve as a basal starting point for expanding what we know about that truth by motivating scholars who are knowledgeable in the area to comment on the topic represented, provide their own insights pertinent to the topic, and consider other aspects of the relation that might expand (or not) on its generalizability. This book offers a platform for extending such thinking by showcasing the additional thought and perspectives that arise from consideration of an important aspect of the central media/violence relation; that is, advertising and the violent depictions that occur in this format.

As indicated, we have attempted to facilitate the genesis of this further commentary by compiling articles from our previous JA special issue and articles from other JA issues that were pertinent to the topic. We also invited other scholars to lend their unique perspectives who have considerable background in areas pertinent to violence and advertising.

The result of these efforts is a book that is organized around seven parts: Violence in Media Defined, Humor and Violence in Advertising, Sex and Violence in Advertising, Effects of Violence in Advertising, Special Concerns for Children, Public Service Campaigns, and Regulatory Issues. This introductory chapter continues with a synopsis of the articles that comprise each of the major sections.

The two chapters in the first section, Violence in Media Defined, provide background perspective for discussion of media violence. Chapter 2 is an invited chapter by Carlos Cruz and Brad J. Bushman titled “Understanding Media Violence and Its Effects.” In this chapter, Cruz and Bushman set the contextual stage for understanding violence in the media in general. These authors provide definitions for aggression and violence and note that humans have exposed themselves to depictions of violence throughout virtually all of our history. They also discuss the General Aggression Model, which provides a theoretical framework for appreciating and comprehending the scope of negative effects that arise from violent depictions in the media.

In the third chapter, “Exploring the Underlying Dimensions of Violence in Print Advertisements,” Hillary A. Leonard and Christy Ashley provide transition from the generalized context of violence and the media to the central focus of this book: violence in advertising. Leonard and Ashley find that viewers utilize a two-dimensional framework when reacting to violent advertisements, rather than perceiving advertising violence unidimensionally. Specifically, viewer reactions are differentiated by whether the ad that is viewed is from the victim’s or the perpetrator’s point of view and the degree to which victims are perceived as deserving of the violence enacted on them.

The next four chapters extend the introductory conceptual work in Part I regarding violence and the media into specific areas and contexts where such juxtapositions may be identified and found. For example, the topic in Part II, Humor and Violence in Advertising, is explored via two chapters: “It’s Just a Joke: Violence Against Males in Humorous Advertising,” by Charles Gulas, Kim McKeage and Marc Weinberger (Chapter 4), and “The Prevalence and Influence of the Combination of Humor and Violence in Super Bowl Commercials,” by Benjamin J. Blackford, James Gentry, Robert L. Harrison, and Les Carlson (Chapter 5). Both of these chapters focus on how humor has been combined in ads with depictions of violence. In Chapter 4, for example, Gulas, McKeage, and Weinberger find that depictions of males in advertising are often demeaning to men. In addition, these depictions may combine humor with violent portrayals such that men are revealed as inept and lethargic and deserving of scorn. Such disparaging representations of men are a relatively recent phenomenon compared to the more positive portrayals that were characteristic of advertising and programs from the television era typified by the Andy Griffith Show. Blackford, Gentry, Harrison, and Carlson in Chapter 5 also investigate combining humor and violence, this time within Super Bowl commercials over three consecutive time periods. These authors find that violent “acts” occur frequently in Super Bowl commercials and, moreover, that these depictions of violence are also sometimes veiled by a humorous context. Perhaps even more disquieting is that these humorous representations of violence also appear in some of the popularly rated, or most liked, Super Bowl commercials.

Part III, Sex and Violence in Advertising, also comprises two chapters and, similar to Part II, centers on pairing violence in advertising with another phenomenon, in this instance, sex. We have again invited a chapter on this topic by two scholars who have investigated the subject extensively. Tom Reichert and Marc G. Weinberger in Chapter 6, “Fifty Shades of Sex and Violence: Scenes of Advertising to Come?” provide background on two important media trends that have emerged since the 1970s: increases in sexually oriented themes as well as violent portrayals in the media. Both trends are defined in the chapter, and an assessment is provided of the prevalence and effects of utilizing sex and violence in advertising. The chapter also offers an overview of the juxtaposition of sex and violence in advertising, and while the authors believe that there is negligible occurrence of this combination in “mainstream” advertising today, they also suggest that combinations of sex and violence in ads are likely to increase in the future.

In Chapter 7, “The Impact of Violence Against Women in Advertisements,” Michael L. Capella, Ronald Paul Hill, Justine M. Rapp, and Jeremy Kees investigate how sexualized violence toward women in advertising may affect viewer perceptions. Findings indicated some gender difference; specifically, women are typically unaffected by sexualized violence while men appear to be more positively oriented to such depictions. There appeared to be age-related effects as well, with younger viewers more positively oriented toward sexualized violence compared to older respondents. Consequently, the authors conclude that advertisers might approach use of such appeals with caution because of the possibility (yet untested) that younger men may be socialized into a “culture of aggression” from viewing ads that incorporate sexualized and violent images.

Part IV, Effects of Violence in Advertising, is devoted to exploration of the outcomes that may be attributable to violent portrayals in ads. In Chapter 8, “The Role of Dominance in the Appeal of Violent Media Depictions,” Laurence Ashworth, Martin Pyle, and Ethan Pancer suggest that most previous work on violence has focused on the consequences of viewer exposure to violence and not on why viewers are attracted to such depictions. The authors propose it is the portrayal of dominance that makes violence appealing in video game ads because being able to dominate others has resulted in beneficial outcomes for us throughout human history. In other words, we are wired to be attracted to images that incorporate dominance, though men were found to like violent depictions that incorporated dominance while women were less attracted to such images.

In Chapter 9, “Celebrity Endorser Violence Outside the Ad Context: Synergies and Concerns,” Nora J. Rifon, Karen Smreker, and Sookyong Kim introduce us to a side of violence that may be relatively “new,” at least in terms of what is usually considered under the umbrella of depictions of violence. In this chapter, the authors note tendencies to engage in violence by at least some celebrities but also suggest how the media again plays a role in how violence may be processed inappropriately by viewers. That is, when the media portrays celebrities engaged in violent acts, and moreover when consequences for their violent acts are not also part of the media’s portrayal of the celebrity, then viewers may form the distorted view that violence may be “okay” for some individuals but not others.

Part V, Special Concerns for Children, is composed of three chapters and is devoted to an examination of violent depictions in the media and their relevance for children. In Chapter 10, “Violence Is in the Ads, Too: Should Television Advertisements Be Rated?” Marla B. Royne and Alexa K. Fox address the question of whether television commercials should be rated based on their violent content. Television networks already have the flexibility and capability to voluntarily rate most televised programs (though some programs are exempt, as are the commercials that appear during the programs). There have been attempts by the private sector toward development of a rating system for commercials, but these efforts have been largely voluntary in nature and have not resulted in compulsory guidelines for the television industry to follow regarding rating commercials on their violent content. An exploratory study is described in which children were asked to record their television viewing together with commercials they disliked. Interestingly, children cite commercials that make them feel uncomfortable even during programs that were deemed suitable for children according to program ratings.

In Chapter 11, “Television Commercial Violence: Potential Effects on Children,” authors E. Deanne Brocato, Douglas A. Gentile, Russell N. Laczniak, Julia A. Maier, and Mindy Ji-Song investigate further the effects of depictions of violence in commercials on children. Separate focus groups composed of parents and their children were used to explore how each group viewed violence. Neither parents nor their children were overly concerned about violence, though a follow-up experimental study indicated that exposure to violent commercials may elicit aggressive thoughts from children.

Karen L. Becker-Olsen and Patricia A. Norberg, in “Caution, Animated Violence: Assessing the Efficacy of Violent Video Game Ratings” (Chapter 12), also explore the efficacy of ratings systems, this time within the context of violent video games. Findings from two studies indicated that self-reported knowledge of an existing video game rating system, and where information about the video game’s rating could be found, varied across parent and child respondents. Middle school students cited the highest levels of knowledge about the rating system, and all groups of children (middle school, high school, and college students) knew where a vide...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• 1. Introduction
• Part I. Violence in Media Defined
• Part II. Humor and Violence in Advertising
• Part III. Sex and Violence in Advertising
• Part IV. Effects of Violence in Advertising
• Part V. Special Concerns for Children
• Part VI. Public Service Campaigns
• Part VII. Regulatory Issues
• About the Editors and Contributors
• Index