“Therapeutic Advertising”: When Do Female Consumers Really Benefit?

This research examines whether female consumers benefit from brand strategies that attempt to decrease their self-discrepancies by setting more realistic ideals (i.e., therapeutic advertising, such as Body Shop, Aerie, and Always). The results of our preliminary study reveal that therapeutic advertising leads to stronger self-conscious emotions than idealistic advertising. More specifically, it leads to stronger emotions of both pride and shame. However, the latter only holds true for female consumers low in self-liking and high difficulties in abandoning unattainable goals. Female consumers who like themselves and are able to abandon unattainable goals do not feel more ashamed when being exposed to therapeutic advertising compared to idealized advertising. These findings have implications for marketing managers and policy makers.

A PCR based assay for the detection of enteric pathogens from Hemoccult(RTM) cards

Background. Large field studies in travelers' diarrhea (TD) in multiple destinations are limited by the need to perform stool cultures on site in a timely manner. A method for the collection, transport and storage of fecal specimens that does not require immediate processing, refrigeration and is stable for months would be advantageous. ^ Objectives. Determine if enteric pathogen bacterial DNA can be identified in cards routinely used for evaluation of fecal occult blood. ^ Methods. U.S. students traveling to Mexico in 2005-07 were followed for occurrence of diarrheal illness. When ill, students provided a stool specimen for culture and occult blood by the standard method. Cards were then stored at room temperature prior to DNA extraction. A multiplex fecal PCR was performed to identify enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) in DNA extracted from stools and occult blood cards. ^ Results. Significantly more EAEC cases were identified by PCR done in DNA extracted from cards (49%) or from frozen feces (40%) than by culture followed by HEp-2 adherence assays (13%). Similarly more ETEC cases were detected in card DNA (38%) than fecal DNA (30%) or culture followed by hybridization (10%). Sensitivity and specificity of the card test was 75% and 62%, respectively, and 50% and 63%, respectively, when compared to EAEC and ETEC culture, respectively, and 53% and 51%, respectively compared to EAEC multiplex fecal PCR and 56% and 70%, respectively, compared to ETEC multiplex fecal PCR. ^ Conclusions. DNA extracted from fecal cards used for detection of occult blood is of use in detecting enteric pathogens. ^

Magic cards: a new augmented reality approach

Augmented reality (AR) commonly uses markers for detection and tracking. Such multimedia applications associate each marker with a virtual 3D model stored in the memory of the camera-equipped device running the application. Application users are limited in their interactions, which require knowing how to design and program 3D objects. This generally prevents them from developing their own entertainment AR applications. The Magic Cards application solves this problem by offering an easy way to create and manage an unlimited number of virtual objects that are encoded on special markers.

Use of Java Cards in a telematic voting system.

This paper presents a general view of the telematic voting system developed by its authors, with a special emphasis on the important role that smart cards play in this scenario. The use of smart cards as basic pieces for providing secure cryptographic operations in this type of voting scheme is justified. The differences and advantages of Java Cards in comparison with the ?classical? smart cards (those that completely conform to the ISO/IEC 7816 standard) are also discussed. As an example, the paper describes one of the applets implemented in the voting Java Card as part of the general telematic voting application.

3D simulation of complex shading affecting PV systems taking benefit from the power of graphics cards developed for the video game industry

Shading reduces the power output of a photovoltaic (PV) system. The design engineering of PV systems requires modeling and evaluating shading losses. Some PV systems are affected by complex shading scenes whose resulting PV energy losses are very difficult to evaluate with current modeling tools. Several specialized PV design and simulation software include the possibility to evaluate shading losses. They generally possess a Graphical User Interface (GUI) through which the user can draw a 3D shading scene, and then evaluate its corresponding PV energy losses. The complexity of the objects that these tools can handle is relatively limited. We have created a software solution, 3DPV, which allows evaluating the energy losses induced by complex 3D scenes on PV generators. The 3D objects can be imported from specialized 3D modeling software or from a 3D object library. The shadows cast by this 3D scene on the PV generator are then directly evaluated from the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Thanks to the recent development of GPUs for the video game industry, the shadows can be evaluated with a very high spatial resolution that reaches well beyond the PV cell level, in very short calculation times. A PV simulation model then translates the geometrical shading into PV energy output losses. 3DPV has been implemented using WebGL, which allows it to run directly from a Web browser, without requiring any local installation from the user. This also allows taken full benefits from the information already available from Internet, such as the 3D object libraries. This contribution describes, step by step, the method that allows 3DPV to evaluate the PV energy losses caused by complex shading. We then illustrate the results of this methodology to several application cases that are encountered in the world of PV systems design. Keywords: 3D, modeling, simulation, GPU, shading, losses, shadow mapping, solar, photovoltaic, PV, WebGL

Graveyards to Glamour : Development of Sexualized Angel Imagery in American Art and Advertising

Images of female angels in American art and advertisements have been sexualized in the late twentieth and early twenty-­‐first centuries. Companies such as Victoria’s Secret have appropriated the image of female angels, which first appeared at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and clothed them in lingerie in order to sell a product. This Masters Research Paper explores the evolution of female angelic imagery in the United States in order to understand how and when the image of angels began to be sexualized and used in advertising. Angels in art have been studied extensively; however, there has been no work done which examines how the angels in art and advertising have been sexualized. Nor has any work been done to map the evolution of female angelic imagery in American art. This Masters Research Paper will fill that gap in scholarship.

What makes an ad enjoyable? Analysing advertising appeals as viewed by Portuguese consumers

Nowadays, consumers are faced with a variety of media that convey myriad advertising messages, which struggle amidst a highly competitive environment, with a view to drawing the viewers’ attention, raising awareness, creating interest and inspiring desire and, ultimately, leading to the purchase of the product/service at stake. For this, advertising professionals deliberately intertwine their selling arguments with emotionally-charged creative concepts. It is the aim of this study to analyse the impact of the main creative appeals and to identify groups of consumers based on their attitudes towards them. We have undertaken a quantitative study, by means of a survey administered to a convenience sample with a list of creative appeals, which had to be classified by the respondents according to their attitudes. Globally speaking, the preferred appeals were humour, music and animation. Nonetheless, it was possible to divide the respondents into three groups. ‘Advertising fans’, the ‘rationally-minded’ and the ‘emotionally-minded’. This study presents some limitations, especially as to the sample used. Apart from the reduced number of respondents and lack of more widespread geographic reach, some academic qualifications were underrepresented. The results of this study offer some avenues to be explored by marketing and advertising professionals when it comes to deciding on the best creative approach to select for their advertising campaigns. Besides, this study paves the way to the development of future research on the issue of advertising appeals and its relationship with the psychographic characteristics of consumers.

Quality of pharmaceutical advertising and gender bias in medical journals (1998-2008): a review of the scientific literature

Objective: To review the scientific literature on pharmaceutical advertising aimed at health professionals in order to determine whether gender bias has decreased and the quality of information in pharmaceutical advertising has improved over time. Methods: We performed a content analysis of original articles dealing with medical drug promotion (1998-2008), according to quality criteria such as (a) the number, validity and accessibility of bibliographic references provided in pharmaceutical advertising and (b) the extent to which gender representations were consistent with the prevalence of the diseases. Databases: PUBMED, Medline, Scopus, Sociological Abstract, Eric and LILACS. Results: We reviewed 31 articles that analyzed advertising in medical journals from 1975-2005 and were published between 1998 and 2008. We found that the number of references used to support pharmaceutical advertising claims increased from 1975 but that 50% of these references were not valid. There was a tendency to depict men in paid productive roles, while women appeared inside the home or in non-occupational social contexts. Advertisements for psychotropic and cardiovascular drugs overrepresented women and men respectively. Conclusions: The use of bibliographic references increased between 1998 and 2008. However, representation of traditional male-female roles was similar in 1975 and 2005. Pharmaceutical advertisements may contribute to reinforcing the perception that certain diseases are associated with the most frequently portrayed sex.

Assessing advertising in a hierarchical decision model

Many destination marketing organizations in the United States and elsewhere are facing budget retrenchment for tourism marketing, especially for advertising. This study evaluates a three-stage model using Random Coefficient Logit (RCL) approach which controls for correlations between different non-independent alternatives and considers heterogeneity within individual’s responses to advertising. The results of this study indicate that the proposed RCL model results in a significantly better fit as compared to traditional logit models, and indicates that tourism advertising significantly influences tourist decisions with several variables (age, income, distance and Internet access) moderating these decisions differently depending on decision stage and product type. These findings suggest that this approach provides a better foundation for assessing, and in turn, designing more effective advertising campaigns.

Online Media and Crisis? of Advertising Media Planning

Nowadays, online media represent a great choice for advertising. From de advertising media planning, new media give new ways to reach the consumers, but they also add more complexity. The communication capacity of online media and the greater use of that media by part of the users open up the debate about the necessity of rethinking the approach of the ‘traditional’ advertising media planning, which structure and work processes were developed when media were offline. So, this article gives a panoramic view about the influence of new media in advertising media planning. To do this, in first place, describes the current scenario, analyzing the penetration and advertising expenditure in Internet. Also, it shows the main online media according to their proximity to the offline advertising media planning conception. In second place, this article addresses the current challenges at measuring new media as a symptom of the impulse at the change of model. Finally, the article ends up showing some trends that are presented as drivers of change. However, after this analysis, comes up the point that those aspects would not change the essence of advertising media planning, so it is questionable if we can speak of a crisis or, instead, if new media are showing the necessity that media planning have to be involved with this new scenario.

Does the scientific evidence support the advertising claims made for products containing Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium lactis? A systematic review

Background To analyse the scientific evidence that exists for the advertising claims made for two products containing Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium lactis and to conduct a comparison between the published literature and what is presented in the corporate website. Methods Systematic review, using Medline through Pubmed and Embase. We included human clinical trials that exclusively measured the effect of Lactobacillus casei or Bifidobacterium lactis on a healthy population, and where the objective was related to the health claims made for certain products in advertising. We assessed the levels of evidence and the strength of the recommendation according to the classification criteria established by the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (CEBM). We also assessed the outcomes of the studies published on the website that did not appear in the search. Results Of the 440 articles identified, 16 met the inclusion criteria. Only four (25%) of these presented a level of evidence of 1b and a recommendation grade of A, all corresponding to studies on product containing Bifidobacterium lactis, and only 12 of the 16 studies were published on the corporate website (47). Conclusions There is insufficient scientific evidence to support the health claims made for these products, especially in the case of product containing Lactobacillus casei.

Differentiated effect of advertising: Joint vs. separate consumption

In a context of intense competition, cooperative advertising between firms is critical. Accordingly, the objective of this article is to analyze the potential differentiated effect of advertising on two basic consumption patterns: individual products (i.e. hotel, restaurant) vs. bundle (i.e. hotel + restaurant). This research adds to the extant literature in that, for the first time, this potential differentiated effect is examined through a hierarchical modelling framework that reflects the way people make their decisions: first, they decide whether to visit or not a region; second, whether to purchase an advertised product in that region; and third, whether to buy products together or separately at the region. The empirical analysis, applied to a sample of 11,288 individuals, shows that the influence of advertising is positive for the decisions to visit and to purchase; however, when it comes to the joint or separate consumption, advertising has a differentiated effect: its impact is much greater on the joint alternative (“hotel + restaurant”) than the separate options (“hotel” and “restaurant”). Also, the variable distance moderates the advertising effect.

The regulation of professional advertising practices in Spain, 1988–2013

From the perspective of the sociology of professions, every professional activity should have its own clearly circumscribed and regulated sphere of action. Such an articulation facilitates the regulation of the production of a given profession as well as the way in which it is practiced. The purpose of the research reported here was to provide a comprehensive review and evaluation of the regulatory framework governing the advertising sector in Spain. To this end, the authors analysed external regulatory legislation and self-regulatory codes extracted from the data base of the Asociación para la Autoregulación de la Comunicación Comercial (Autocontrol) that had been enacted or adopted between 1988, the year that Law 11/1998 on General Telecommunications entered into force, and 2003 as well as other relevant documents retrieved from the Boletin Oficial del Estado (BOE) pertaining to the same period. Findings indicate that although there has been a groundswell of legislation governing advertising practices in Spain since 1988, especially at the regional level, lawmakers have focused on the content of advertising messages and shown very little interest in regulating the professions of advertising and public relations. Furthermore, Spanish legislation enacted in 2003 and EU policies appear to have encouraged the adoption of voluntary codes of ethics. Sectors traditionally subject to mandatory advertising regulation, either due to the vulnerability of their target audiences or the potential impact of their commercial messages on public health or the environment, are more likely to develop self-regulatory codes of conduct than others