Call for Submissions
The Journal of Advertising
Special Issue
Advertising and its Connection to
Violence and Abuse

Special Issue Editors
Nora J. Rifon, Michigan State University
Marla Royne, University of Memphis
Les Carlson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Manuscripts are solicited for a special issue of The Journal of Advertising devoted to the connection of advertising-related media on violence and abuse. Authors may submit empirical or theoretical papers, including literature reviews that offer strong theoretical frameworks for research programs, content analyses, surveys, and experiments.

Violence is defined by the World Health Organization as, “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.” The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has identified violence to and abuse of children and youth as a tragic and preventable global public health problem. Child abuse, suicide, sexual abuse, youth violence, and related psychological disorders of self-abuse, are on the rise.

While much attention has been focused on violence in the general media with respect to mostly entertainment content, few researchers have actively studied issues related to commercial media content – ADVERTISING -- and the role it may play in fostering violence by and abuse of children and adults in its many active and passive forms. Several recent phenomena suggest that it is time for researchers to focus on this topic.

A spate of recent highly visible advertising campaigns using violent themes, imagery, and acts elicited heightened scrutiny after the 2007 Superbowl. There are a growing number of highly successful video games with violence at their core such as Grand Theft Auto, World of Warcraft, and Halo to name a few, that receive advertising support. There are also a growing number of advertising-based Internet games offered and freely accessible to even young children. Indeed, the success of entertainment vehicles is highly dependent on advertising support systems. The recent intermingling of advertising and entertainment content points to the pivotal role of advertising for defining cultural norms and influencing behaviors of violence, abuse to others and self, and neglect.

Research questions and topics that may be addressed include but are not limited to:

• What are the magnitude, scope, and character of violence in advertising?
• Symbolic consumption of violence
• Dehumanization in advertising
• Media literacy
• Public policy issues related to violence and advertising
• Social Advertising and violence reduction
• New media, gaming and violence consumption as a contributor to active and passive child abuse.
• Special concerns for youth
• Is violence in advertising a correlate or contributing cause to violent behavior?
• In what ways does advertising influence violence and abuse?
• What is the potential role of advertising in the creation of violence to and abuse of children in modern society?
• Stereotyping and degradation
• Regulatory issues for violence in advertising
• Websites as advertising support for violent media content
• Advertising of children’s toys.
• Advertising of weapons.
• Social Advertising and child abuse prevention
• Violence in sports marketing
• Framing of messages for the prevention of child abuse
• Socialization agent influences on the effects of violence in advertising

Submissions should follow the manuscript format guidelines for the Journal of Advertising found at http://ja.memphis.edu/inforauthors.htm

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically to joa@memphis.edu and in the subject line type Violence Issue.

General Submission Requirements

All submissions, reviewing, and notification regarding the special issue will be conducted electronically, by email.  Submission deadline: March 31, 2009.

Submission Information

In the body of your email, please provide:

• Title of Paper
• Primary contact person’s name, affiliation, mailing address, phone number, fax number, and email address
• Names of other co-authors/participants, their affiliations,
• Key Words: 3 to 5 key words that identify the topic and the methods used in the research.

Electronic format for submission: Your submission will be a word document sent as an email attachment.  All submissions should be scanned for viruses. Make sure to save a copy of your submission information until notification of the final decision. Please ensure that submissions do not have author names on the title page.

Acknowledgement of receipt: The primary contact person will receive an acknowledgement of receipt of your submission by email. If you do not receive an acknowledgement email within a couple of days of submission, you should send an email inquiring about the status of your submission to Nora Rifon or Les Carlson.

Because reviewing will be blind, authors should refrain from identifying themselves or their affiliations in the body of the paper and in footnotes. Please note that it is the submitting author’s responsibility to make sure that the document does not contain any identifying information when saved as a Word file. (Right click on the file in Windows Explorer and go to “Properties” and then “Summary” to ensure that all identifying information is removed.)

Call for Papers
The Journal of Advertising
Special Issue Advertising Regulation and Self-Regulation

Manuscripts are being solicited for an upcoming issue of Journal of Advertising devoted to  advertising regulation and self-regulation. Authors may submit empirical studies, analysis of legal issues currently faced by government or trade groups, or conceptual analysis of current issues in light of the existing literature.  Papers should be theoretically well grounded and contain significant managerial and/or policy implications. The primary criterion for assessing fit with the special issue is whether the paper provides new insight into theory and/or practice of advertising regulation or self-regulation and their impacts on business practices.

Topics that would be appropriate for this special issue can focus on either government actions, non-government trade associations programs run without government sanction or control secondary regulatory impacts on advertising practices such as regulation, self-regulation by mass media vehicles. Specific topics can include, but are not limited to:

• Specific creative techniques that can raise regulatory concerns.
• Assessments of the circumstances under which self-regulatory organizations efforts influence advertising outcomes in either the U.S. or other countries.
• Evidence requirements for regulatory concerns or self-regulation.
• Regulatory issues involving specific target markets (e.g., children, low income consumers, consumers with limited education).
• Regulatory or legal issues in international advertising.
• Client/agency relationships and responsibilities for regulatory issues.
• Regulatory issues pertaining to new media, including privacy issues.
• Regulation of specific media types that impact advertising content (e.g. outdoor advertising; child-oriented television).
• Regulation and self-regulation of specific product categories such as pharmaceutical advertising to doctors or consumers (DTC), OTC drugs or nutritional supplements, food,  tobacco, guns, or alcohol.
• Relationship of non-government trade groups to government regulators.
• Impact of government decisions on business activity, self-regulation practices or consumer trust in advertising messages.

Submission Information
Papers are to be sent via a special email address at jaspecialissue@villanova.edu, stating in the subject line the general research approach. Manuscripts are to follow current JA manuscript guides found at http://www.ja.memphis.edu/inforauthors.htm

Manuscripts are due by April 1, 2008.