Intro to Mass Communication Chapter 12 - Advertising and PR

Advergames

Online video games that feature particular products and are marketed to children 

Public Relations

The actions used by an organization to communicate with its constituents 

Traditional Publicity Model

A PR model that aims to gain media attention 

Public Information Model

A PR model that attempts to pass information on to the public 

Persuasive Communication Model

A PR model that uses persuasive techniques to elicit a particular response from the target group 

Propaganda

The organized spreading of information to assist or weaken a cause 

Two-Way Symmetrical Model

A PR model that seeks to achieve consensus between two groups 

Crisis Management

The PR strategies used to deal with potentially damaging information or events so as to minimize negative publicity 

Advertising

Promoting a product or service through the use of paid announcements 

Public Relations

The management of information and images of a person or organization 

Pompeii

79 CE, volcanic eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius destroyed and preserved the ancient city of ________

• Its ruins revealed a world in which the fundamental tenets of commerce and advertising were already in place 

• Merchants offered different brands of fish sauces, wines were branded (manufacturers sought to position them by making claims about prestige and quality), and toys / other merchandise bared the name of famous athletes, possibly providing the first example of endorsement techniques 

Printing Press

Invention of the ________ ______ in 1440 changed the scale of advertising 

• Made it possible to create advertisements that could be put up on walls and handed out to individuals 

Large-Scale Advertising Campaigns

European colonization of the Americas during the 1600s brought about one of the first _____-_____ _________ _________

• European trading companies realized that America held economic potential as a source of natural resources like timber, fur, and tobacco 

• Attempted to convince others to cross the Atlantic Ocean and work to harvest (ads described a paradise without beggars and with plenty of land for those who made the trip) 

• Convinced many poor Europeans to become indentured servants to pay for the voyage 

New York Sun

___ ____ ___ (penny press) embraced a novel advertising model that in 1833 allowed it so sell issues of the paper for a small amount of money which ensured higher circulation and a wider audience 

• Larger audience justified greater prices for advertisements, allowing the paper to make a profit from ads rather than from direct sales 

Volney Palmer

1843, a salesman named ______ _______ founded the first US agency dedicated to advertising 

• Philly agency made money by linking potential advertisers with newspapers 

George Rowell

• Made a living buying bulk advertising space in newspapers to subdivide and sell to advertisers 

• Began conducting market research in its modern form 

• Used surveys and circulation counts to estimate numbers of readers and anticipate effective advertising techniques 

• Agency gained an advantage over others by offering advertising space most suited for a particular product 

Printers’ Ink

1888, Rowel started the first advertising trade magazine called _________ ___ 

Industrial Packaging

Innovations like __________ _________ allowed companies to mass produce bags, tins, and cartons with brand names on them 

Nationwide Outlets

___________ _______ (Sears, Roebuck & Company, Montgomery Ward) sold many of the same items to consumers all over the country  

• Item spotted in a big-city storefront could come to a small-town shopper’s home thanks to mail-order catalogs 

Early 20th Century

Era where attitudes towards advertising changed

• Brands were trusted parts of American households 

• As magazines began using more advertising, the advertising profession began attracting more artists and writers 

• Writers used verse and artists produced illustrations to embellish advertisements 

• Era gave rise to commercial jingles and iconic brand characters like the Jolly Green Giant and the Pillsbury Doughboy 

Sapolio

Household cleaner _______ produced advertisements that made the most of the artistic advertising trend 

• Featured various drawings of the residents of “Spotless Town” along with a rhymed verse celebrating the virtues of this fictional haven of cleanliness 

• Ad became so popular that citizens passed “Spotless Town” resolutions to clean up their own jurisdictions 

Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays

Most scholars trace birth of public relations industry back to two men in the early 1900s: ___ ___ ___ _______ _______

Ivy Lee

• Began career as a New York journalist 

• 1903 Rockefeller family and its Standard Oil faced a public backlash to the suppression of coal mine strikes in 1903 

• ___ encouraged the family head, John D. Rockefeller, to visit the mines and interact with the miners and invited along the press 

• Actions helped improve public perception of Rockefeller and Standard Oil 

• ___ then found himself in a new position – public relations – and attracted other clients (Pennsylvania Railroad) 

Edward Bernays

• Working to create public relations but in a quite different way 

• Nephew of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud 

• Worked to apply uncle’s theories on psychology to the broader state of public opinion with particular interests in propaganda and persuasion 

• 1923 book (Crystalizing Public Opinion) 

• Seen as a founding text of public relations 

Crystalizing Public Opinion

Book written by Edward Bernays in 1923

Radio

Lobbyists worked hard in 1920s to make _____ an advertising supported medium 

• At first many thought radio was too intrusive a medium to allow advertising, but as it entered the homes by the end of the decade, advertising became an integral aspect of programming 

• Advertising agencies often created their own programs that networks then distributed 

Great Depression

_____ __________ had a negative effect on advertising 

• Spending on ads dropped to 38% of its previous level 

• Social reformers added to revenue woes by questioning the moral standing of the advertising profession 

• Books (Through Many Windows and Our Master’s Voice) portrayed advertisers as dishonest and cynical, willing to say anything to make a profit and unconcerned about their influence on society 

Ballyhoo

Depression-era magazine ________

• Regularly featured parodies of ads 

• These ads mocked the claims that had been made throughout the 1920s, further reducing advertising’s public standing 

False and Misleading

One lasting effect of depression 

• Rising consumer movement made _____ ___ __________ advertising a major public policy issue 

• At the time, companies such as Fleischmann’s (claimed its yeast could cure crooked teeth) were using advertisements to pitch misleading assertions 

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

1938, federal government created the _________ _____ __________ (FTC) and gave it the authority to halt false advertising 

Single Sponsors

______ ________ created early television programs 

• Had total control over certain programs (Goodyear TV Playhouse and Kraft Television Theatre) 

Quiz Shows

____ _____ of 1950s were last single-sponsor-produced programs 

• 1958, when allegations of quiz show fraud became national news, advertisers moved out of programming entirely 

• Quiz show scandals added to an increasing skepticism of ads and consumer culture 

The Hidden Persuaders

Vance Packard’s best-selling 1957 book

• Targeted this style of advertising (used scientifically driven techniques to attempt to influence consumer opinion) and was part of a growing critique of 1950s consumer culture 

Creative Revolution

This era of advertising became known as the “________ __________” for its emphasis on creativity over straight salesmanship 

• Creative revolution reflected the values of the growing anticonformist movement that culminated in the countercultural revolution of the 1960s 

Mad Men

Creative Revolution period was portrayed by popular US television program in the 2000s about advertisers titled “___ ___” 

Brands and Brand Loyalty

During late 1980s, studies showed that consumers were trending away from _______ ___ _____ _______

• Recession coupled with general consumer fatigue led to increase in generic brand purchases and a decrease in advertising with a rise in marketing (process of identifying consumer needs and determining how best to meet those needs, with or without advertising) 

• 1983, marketing budgets allocated for 70% of expenditures to ads and remaining 30% to other forms of promotion 

• 1993, only 25% of marketing budget dedicated to ads 

Ideas

Large brands remade themselves during this period to focus less on their products and more on the _____ behind the brand 

• Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign, endorsed by Michael Jordan, gave company a new direction and a new means of promotion 

• Nike representatives have stated they have become more of a “marketing-oriented company” as opposed to a product manufacturer 

Reformers

As large brands became more popular, they attracted the attention of ________

• Companies like Starbucks and Nike bore brunt of late 1990s protests against “sweatshops” and unfair labor practices 

• As these brands attempted to incorporate ideas outside of the scope of their products, they also came to represent larger global commerce forces 

• This type of branding – the association of a particular brand with cultural values or lifestyles – increasingly incorporated public relations techniques rather than advertising 

Consumer Culture

Consumption is a social and cultural activity, not always driven by physical needs or wants, but instead by finding pleasure and meaning in the very acts of purchasing and consuming 

Consumption

The act of buying goods and services

Consumerism

Is the unspoken message behind most advertising 

• You can buy a product that suits your needs and desires, consumer culture says 

• Suggests you can buy happiness, freedom, and peace of mind 

1984

Apple’s ____ campaign is one of the best known examples of defining a product in terms of new cultural trends 

• Apple spent $2 million on this commercial that would only air once (during Super Bowl) 

• Commercial showed a drab gray auditorium where identical individuals sat in front of a large screen 

• On screen was a man, addressing the audience with an eerily captivating voice (“We are one people, with one will”) 

• While passive audience sat motionlessly, one woman ran forward with a sledgehammer and threw it at the screen, causing it to explode in a flash of light and smoke 

• As scene faded, a narrator announced that Apple would announce the new Macintosh computer 

Instead of marketing its products as utilitarian tools, it advertised them as devices for combating conformity

Stereotypes

In particular, advertising is fully implicated in the perpetuation of ___________ 

• White, middle-class composition of ad agencies through the decades contributed to the rare depictions of minoritized populations in advertisements 

• When people of color were represented, it was almost always in stereotypical form 

• Unlike the black Americans who had gained fame through their artistry, scholarship, and athleticism, however, these advertising characters were famous for being domestic servants, waiting on white people 

Women

_____ also subject to stereotypes 

• Early ads frequently reached out to women as they made about 80% of all consumer purchases 

• Depictions presented women in extremely narrow roles 

• Through 1960s, ads targeting women generally showed them performing either as sexual objects or doing domestic duties like cooking or cleaning 

• Ads targeting men often placed women in a submissive sexual role even if the product lacked any overt sexual connotation 

• National Car Rental ad (early 1970s) 

• Featured a disheveled female employee in a chare with the headline “Go Ahead, Take Advantage of Us” 

National Organization for Women (NOW)

________ ___________ __ ______ (NOW) created a campaign during the early 1970s targeting the role of women in advertisements 

• Participants complained about offensive ads to networks and companies and even spray-painted slogans on offensive billboards in protest 

Super Bowl

2010 _____ ____ (one of most diverse audiences recorded for the event – 45% female) 

• Commercials still remained focused strictly on men 

• Of 67 ads shown during game, only 4 showed minority actors in a lead role 

Children’s Online Privacy Act of 1998

__________ ______ _______ ___ __ ____ was passed to prohibit companies from obtaining the personal information of children who access websites or other online resources 

Heineken

• Alcohol company whose online presence includes a virtual city in which users can own an apartment and use services like email (this practice mirrors that of children’s advertising, in which companies often create virtual worlds to immerse children in their products) 

• However, age-verification requirements to participate in this type of environment are easily falsified and can lead to young children being exposed to more mature content 

Pure Food and Drug Law of 1906

• One of the earliest federal laws addressing advertising 

• Reaction to public outcry over the false claims of patent medicines, the law required informational labels to be placed on these products 

• Did not address the questionable aspects of the advertisements (did not truly delve into the issue of false advertising) 

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

• Founded in 1914 

• Became responsible for regulating false advertising claims 

State

Although federal laws concerning these practices made plaintiffs prove that actual harm was done by the advertisement, _____ laws passed during the early 1920s allowed prosecution of misleading advertisements regardless of harm done 

National Association of Attorneys General

________ __________ __ _________ ________ has helped states remain an important part of advertising regulation 

• 1995, 13 states passed laws that required sweepstakes companies to provide full disclosure of rules and details of contests 

New Deal

During Great Depression, ___ ____ legislation threatened to outlaw any misleading advertising, a result of the burgeoning consumer movement and the public outcry against advertising during the period 

Wheeler-Lea Amendment

1938 _______-___ __________ expanded the FTC’s role to protect consumers from deceptive advertising 

• Until this point, FTC was responsible for addressing false advertising complaints from competitors (now agency became an important resource for the consumer movement) 

Advertising Substantiation Program

1971 FTC began the _________ ____________ ______ to force advertisers to provide evidence for the claims in their advertisements 

• Under program, FTC gained power to issue cease-and-desist orders to advertisers regarding specific ads in question and to order corrective advertising 

• Under this provision, FTC can force a company to issue an advertisement acknowledging and correcting an earlier misleading ad 

• Regulations under this program established that supposed experts used in advertisements must be qualified experts in their field, and celebrities must actually use the products they endorse 

Sunny Health Nutrition

• 2006, was brought to court for advertising height-enhancing pills called HeightMax 

• FTC found company hired an actor to appear as an expert in the ads and pills did not live up to their claim 

• Forced to pay $375,000 to consumers for misrepresenting its product 

Advertising

The paid use of media space to sell something 

Public Relations

The attempt to establish and maintain good relations between an organization and its customers or constituents 

The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR

Al and Laura Ries book (___ ____ __ _________ ___ ___ ____ __ __) 

• Make the point that the public trusts the press far more than they trust advertisements 

• Because of this, PR efforts that get brands and products in the press (now including social media) are far more valuable than a simple ad 

• Book details ways in which modern companies use public relations to far greater benefit than they use advertising 

Edward Bernays

Is often credited with helping create the field of public relations with 1923 book Crystalizing Public Opinion 

• Edward Bernays is called “the father of public relations” and more sardonically “the father of spin” 

Todd Hunt and James Grunig

____ ____ ___ _____ ______ developed a theory of four models of PR 

• Theory has held up in the years since its development and is a good introduction to PR concepts 

Traditional Publicity Model, Public Information Model, Persuasive Communication Model, Two-Way Symmetric Model

Grunig and Hunt’s Four PR Models 

Traditional Publicity Model

• (the press agentry model) 

• Professional agents seek media coverage for a client, product, or event 

• Efforts can range from wild publicity stunts to simple news conferences to celebrity interviews in fashion magazines 

• Common phrase that captures this concept: “There is no such thing as bad publicity” 

• Ex: Actors and actresses make themselves available for interviews on morning shows or late evening talk shows to promote forthcoming movies 

Public Information Model

• Businesses communicate information to gain desired results 

• Model is less concerned with obtaining dramatic extensive media coverage that with disseminating information in a way that ensures adequate reception 

• Ex: Colleges send informational brochures to potential students; a company includes an “about” section on its website 

Persuasive Communication Model

• (the two-way asymmetric model)

• Organizations attempt to persuade an audience to take a certain point of view 

• To be effective, this model requires a measured response from its intended audience 

• Government propaganda is a good example of this model 

• Ex: Public service announcements, such as the ones that show “your brain” and “your brain on drugs” or others that encouraged vaccinations during the COVID 19 pandemic 

Two-Way Symmetric Model

• Both parties make use of a back-and-forth discussion 

• Model is often practiced in town hall meetings and other public forums in which the public has a real effect on the results 

• Commercial ventures rely on this model 

• PR can generate media attention or attract customers, and it can also ease communication between a company and its investors, partners, and employees 

• Useful in communicating within an organization (helps employees feel they are an important part of the company) 

• Ex: Customer satisfaction surveys sent out by companies; company Facebook groups and message boards 

PR Group

__ _____ generally handles all aspects of an organization’s or individual’s media presence, including company publications and press releases 

PR Functions

Includes the following

• Media Relations: takes place with media outlets 

• Internal Communication: occurs within a company between management and employees, and among subsidiaries of the same company 

• Business-to-Business: happens between businesses that are in partnership 

• Public Affairs: takes place with community leaders, opinion formers, and those involved in public issues 

• Investor Relations: occurs with investors and shareholders 

• Strategic Communication: intended to accomplish a specific goal 

• Issues Management: keeping tabs on public issues important to the organization 

• Crisis Management: handling events that could damage an organization’s image 

Media Relations

Takes place with media outlets 

Internal Communication

Occurs within a company between management and employees, and among subsidiaries of the same company

Business-to-Business

Happens between businesses that are in partnership

Public Affairs

Takes place with community leaders, opinion formers, and those involved in public issues

Investor Relations

Occurs with investors and shareholders

Strategic Communication

Intended to accomplish a specific goal

Issues Management

Keeping tabs on public issues important to the organization

Crisis Management

Handling events that could damage an organization’s image

PR Campaigns

As part of the strategizing to develop a kind of science of public relations, public relations practitioners have developed the notions of __ “__________” 

• Can be a quick response to a crisis or emerging issue, or they can stem from a long-term strategy tied in with other marketing efforts 

Initial Research Phase, Strategy Phase, Tactics Phase, Evaluation Phase

Four Phases of PR Campaigns

Initial Research Phase

The issue is identified and researched, and a target audience is selected 

• Audience may include media outlets, constituents, consumers, and competitors 

• Context of campaign is often researched including the possible consequences of the campaign and the potential effects on the organization 

• After considering all of these factors, practitioners are better educated to select the best type of campaign 

Strategy Phase

Campaign goals are set and the message is decided 

• PR professionals usually determine objectives focused on the desired goal of the campaign and formulate strategies to meet those objectives 

• Broad strategies such as deciding on the overall message of a campaign and the best way to communicate the message can be finalized at this time 

Tactics Phase

Media forms are selected to carry out the message 

• PR group decides on the means to implement the strategies they formulated during the strategy phase 

• Process can involve devising specific communication techniques and selecting the forms of media that suit the message best 

• Phase may also address budgetary restrictions and possibilities 

Evaluation Phase

The campaign is evaluated for effectiveness  

• PR group can review their campaign plan and evaluate its potential effectiveness 

• May also conduct research on the potential results to better understand the cost and benefits of the campaign 

• Specific criteria for evaluating the campaign when it is completed are also established at this time 

Diamonds for the Common Man

• 1930s De Beers company had an enormous amount of diamonds and a relatively small market of luxury buyers 

• Launched a PR campaign to change the image of diamonds from a luxury good into an accessible and essential aspect of American life 

• Campaign began by giving diamonds to famous movie stars, using their built-in publicity networks to promote De Beers 

• Company created stories about celebrity proposals and gifts between lovers that stressed the size of diamonds given 

• Appeared in selected fashion magazines 

• Result of campaign was the popularization of diamonds as one of the necessary aspects of a marriage proposal 

Taco Bell

____ ____ targets Mir 

• When Russian space station Mir was set to crash land in the Pacific Ocean in 2001, ____ ____ created a flowing vinyl target the company placed in Pacific 

• Promised to give every American a free taco if the space station hit the target 

• Scientists speculated the chances of the station hitting the target was slim to none 

• PR stunt gained ____ ____ what would have been millions of dollars of global advertising 

IKEA “Stay Home”

• During COVID pandemic ____ developed campaign around COVID-19 pandemic 

• Was a public safety reminder to stay home while also showcasing ____ goods 

• Effective because it showed the corporate social responsibility that ____ presented while also showing the cozy ____ products that might make staying home more tolerable 

PR

As we enter 2020s, __ has begun overtaking advertising as the preferred way of promoting a particular company or product 

1965 Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act

• Mandated the first Surgeon’s General warning to appear on cigarette packages 

• “Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health” 

Phillip Morris

Tobacco company ______ ______ 

• Underwrote diverse cultural institutions and causes 

• Marlboro sponsored events brought great deal of media attention to brand 

• Marlboro Country Music Tour took many famous country stars throughout the country and featured talent contests for local bands 

• Favorable reviews of shows generated positive press for Marlboro 

“Marlboro Man”

Tobacco companies, for decades, relied on advertising to boost sales trying to draw distinctions between their offerings and the offerings of other companies 

• “________ ___” (a leathered and tough-looking cowboy) competed against the bright appeal of “Lucky Strike” 

“Tobacco Free Kids”

Group called “________ ____ ____” charged that tobacco and e-cigarette companies exploited COVID crisis by marketing e-cigarette makers and vape shops with pandemic-themed marketing like mask giveaways and mask-wearing influencers displaying the products on social media 

• Group specifically called out Phillip Morris 

Cultural Importance

Campaigns work to position a brand in the public arena in order to give it a sense of _________ __________

• Advertising-centric model of branding focused on the product and used ads to associate a branded good with quality or other positive cultural value 

Saturn

1990 car company ______

• Marketed its automobiles not as a means of transportation but as a form of culture 

• PR campaigns promoted the image of the Saturn family, associating the company with powerful American values and giving Saturn owners a sense of community 

Overall Image

New PR-oriented model of branding focuses on the ________ _____ of the company rather than on the specific merits of the product 

• Branding model seeks to associate a company with specific personal and cultural values that hold meaning for consumers 

Apple

Focuses on a consistent design style in which every product reinforces the Apple experience, the computer company has managed to position itself as a mark of individuality 

“Lovemark”

Kevin Roberts (current CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide – a branding-focused creative organization) 

• Used the term “________” as an alternative to trademark 

• Term encompasses brands that have created “loyalty beyond reason” meaning that consumers feel loyal to a brand in much the same way they would toward friends or family members 

Mystique

Great deal of Apple’s success comes from the company’s ________

• Successfully developed PR campaigns surrounding product releases that leak selected rumors to various press outlets but maintain secrecy over essential details, encouraging speculation by bloggers and mainstream journalists on the next product 

Emotional Connections

__________ ___________ are crucial to building a brand or trademark 

Michael Jordan

Early example of this (appeal to emotional connections) was Nike’s product endorsement deal with _________ _______ in 1990s 

• Basketball stardom created his immense popularity, which was then further built up by a host of press outlets and fans who developed an emotional attachment to Jordan 

• As this connection spread, Nike associated itself with Jordan and also with the emotional reaction he inspired in people 

• Essentially, the company inherited a PR machine that had been built around Jordan and that continued to function until his retirement 

British Petroleum

In 2000, BP began a campaign presenting itself as “Beyond Petroleum” rather than ________ __________ (company’s original name) 

• Became world leader in solar production after acquiring a major solar company 

• BP’s marketing firm developed a PR campaign that emulated the forward-looking two-way symmetric PR model 

• Conducted interviews with consumers, giving them an opportunity to air grievances and publicize energy policy issues 

• Gulf of Mexico incident completely nullified the PR work of previous 10 years