Abstract

The purpose of this research is to document conventional wisdom regarding publicity and its purported superiority to advertising, determine whether consumer scepticism of advertising endures, and compare skepticism of media with that of advertising. Across six decades, the four long-running textbooks reviewed herein exhibit striking continuity in their treatment of publicity – within and across editions. They assert that content in media is perceived by consumers to be objective, truthful, and credible because it is interpreted as news or editorial content; consumers trust news and editorial content more than advertising; and publicity is many times more powerful than advertising. Evidence suggests that consumers remain sceptical of advertising, exhibit increasing scepticism with regard to media, and perceive advertising practitioners and journalists as essentially equivalent with respect to honesty. A careful assessment of the efficacy of publicity is warranted as is an ethical evaluation of publicity as a covert marketing activity. These results serve as a reminder that the conventional wisdom conveyed in textbooks is often wrong at worst and lacks refinement at best.

摘要

本研究的目的是记录关于宣传的传统智慧及其比广告的优越性，确定消费者对广告的怀疑是否持久，并将对媒体的怀疑与对广告的怀疑进行比较。在六个十年中，这里回顾的四本长期运行的教科书在处理宣传方面表现出惊人的连续性——版本内和版本之间。他们断言，消费者认为媒体中的内容是客观、真实和可信的，因为它被解释为新闻或社论内容；与广告相比，消费者更信任新闻和社论内容；宣传的威力是广告的许多倍。证据表明，消费者仍然对广告持怀疑态度，对媒体表现出越来越多的怀疑，并认为广告从业者和记者在诚实方面基本等同。有必要对宣传的有效性进行仔细评估，对作为隐蔽营销活动的宣传进行道德评估也是必要的。这些结果提醒人们，教科书中传达的传统智慧在最坏的情况下往往是错误的，在最好的情况下也缺乏完善。