Date of Graduation
12-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Journalism (MA)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Journalism
Advisor/Mentor
Jan L. Wicks
Committee Member
Igantius Fosu
Second Committee Member
Ron Warren
Keywords
Communication and the arts, Children's advertising, Content analysis, Social cognitive theory
Abstract
This content analysis study on licensed characters in advertising collected data in summer 2015 from three children’s cable networks: Cartoon Network, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Using Social cognitive theory and based on past research (Barcus, 1975; Atkin, 1976; Calcott & Lee, 1994; Stitt & Kunkel, 2008; LoDolce et al., 2013; Castonguay et al., 2013), the study examined whether the use of licensed characters and emotional appeals varied in advertising for healthy or unhealthy foods, mass media genre and the character’s gender. The study found licensed characters are more likely to be used to promote unhealthy foods, originate from movies and reinforce gender stereotypes.
Citation
Davis, D. (2016). A Content Analysis of Advertising on Children’s Television Networks. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1801