Chapter 6 – Source, Message, and Channel Factors
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Power is a source characteristic when the source can actually administer rewards and punishments to
the receiver and operates through a process known as compliance whereby the receiver accepts the
4. Discuss the pros and cons of a company using one of its top executives such as the founder, president,
or CEO as an advertising spokesperson. Find an example of a corporate executive who you feel is a
good spokesperson and discuss the reasons s/he is effective. (L02)
There are several reasons why both major corporations and smaller companies use their founder,
president, or CEO as an advertising spokesperson. Some companies feel that the use of a corporate
announcers. There is also the ego factor, as many corporate leaders appear in their ads because they
feel they are well-suited to deliver the company’s advertising message and/or they want to be seen or
heard in the ads. It may be very easy for an advertising agency to sell a corporate leader on an
advertising campaign in which s/he will be the advertising spokesperson.
There are a number of potential problems associated with the use of a corporate leader as an
5. IMC Perspective 5-1 discusses how NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Brett Favre
have become popular endorsers. Compare Manning, Brady and Favre as advertising spokesmen.
Why might a company chose to use one versus the other as an endorser? (L02)
Chapter 6 – Source, Message, and Channel Factors
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Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots are two of the
top quarterbacks in the National Football League. Both have been very successful as players having
each led their team to Super Bowl victories and winning Most Valuable Player awards in the big game
Super Bowl victories. Brady is also popular because of his model-like good looks and his alluring
image that extends off of the field. His girlfriends included actresses and he is married to Brazilian
supermodel Gasielle Bundchen. Brady has been on the cover of men’s fashion magazine Gentlemen’s
Quarterly (GQ) and in 2007 he topped Esquire magazine’s “Best Dressed Men in the World” list,
beating out rapper Jay-Z. He is more quiet and reserved than Manning and has limited his number of
6. Do you agree with the Coca-Cola Company’s decision to use NBA star Kobe Bryant as an advertising
spokesperson for its Vitamin Water brand? Discuss the pros and cons of using him. (L02)
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As discussed in the chapter, companies are always taking a risk when they hire a high profile athlete
or celebrity as an endorser and/or spokesperson. The companies that had hired Kobe Bryant as an
endorser were shocked when sexual assault charges were brought against him as he had always had
contract with him. However, Nike did more or less hide Bryant for nearly three years before using
him again. In late 2005 Nike began running print ads featuring Bryant and in early 2006 launched
their first Kobe shoe, the Zoom Kobe I. Over the past few years Nike has increased its use of Bryant
and in April 2008 extended his endorsement deal as sales of his shoe line has remained strong. Nike
also made Bryant the face of its basketball shoe for the 2008 Olympics, the Hyperdunk.
Thus, it appears that Bryant has been able to overcome the negative publicity that resulted from the
sexual assault charges and regain some of his endorsement status. Bryant re-emergence as an endorser
is in due to several factors. First, he was never convicted of a crime as the charges against him were
dropped and a civil suit was settled out of courts. Second, while Bryant is viewed as somewhat
arrogant, he is also very articulate and has had no other off-court incidents which would detract from
7. Find a celebrity who is currently appearing in an ad for a particular company or brand and use
McCracken’s meaning transfer model (shown in Figure 6-4) to analyze the use of this individual as a
spokesperson. (L02)
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McCracken’s meaning transfer model provides a very interesting perspective on celebrity
endorsements. According to this model, a celebrity’s effectiveness as an endorser depends on the
culturally acquired meaning s/he brings to the endorsement process. Celebrities acquire these
meanings from the roles they assume in their careers as entertainers, athletes, politicians and other
areas. They then bring these meanings into the advertisements in which they appear and transfer
them to the product or service they are endorsing. Students should be asked to find a celebrity who is
8. Evaluate Domino’s decision to run an advertising campaign acknowledging the problems with the
taste of its pizza as a way to promote its new recipe. Do you think this strategy was an effective way
to promote its reformulated product? (L03)
Domino’s decision to use advertising acknowledging the problems with the taste of its pizza is an
example of the use of a two-sided advertising message whereby a marketer presents both positive
and negative information about a product or service. Most marketers use a one-sided message
mentioning only positive attributes or benefits associated with a product/service or a particular issue
whereas a two-sided message presents both favorable and unfavorable information and arguments.
Chapter 6 – Source, Message, and Channel Factors
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Domino’s use of a two-sided message appears to have been a very effective strategy. The company
knew there were problems with the quality and taste of its pizza which was why they were
reformulating the product. Rather than just announcing that it had changed its pizza, Domino’s and
9. Discuss the factors that lead to commercial wearout giving attention to some of the reasons markets
often run the same ad repeatedly. What are some strategies for delaying or even avoiding wearout?
(L04)
Commercial wearout refers to the tendency of a message to lose its effectiveness when it is seen
repeatedly. Wearout may occur because consumers no longer pay attention to a commercial after
seeing it several times. It can also occur because consumers often become bored, irritated or even
10. Discuss what is meant by clutter in the context of television advertising. Watch a one-hour television
program and assess the amount of clutter that appears during the show. How might advertisers deal
with the clutter problem? (L04)
Clutter generally refers to the amount of advertising in a medium that competes for consumer
attention. However, in a television context it includes commercials as well as all of the non–
programming material that occurs during a broadcast including public service announcements,
Chapter 6 – Source, Message, and Channel Factors
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Students should be asked to watch a one-hour program or two half-hour shows during prime time and
count the number of commercials as well as PSAs, promotions for shows and other clutter factors. It
is likely that their results will show as many as 35 to 40 individual non-programming elements are
11. What is meant by a qualitative media effect? Select a magazine and discuss the nature of the media
environment in that publication. (L04)
A qualitative media effect refers to the positive or negative influence a media vehicle has on an
advertising message as a function of its quality, image, prestige and the reception environment it
creates. Media vehicles such as magazines and television programs have qualitative effects since the
Additional Discussion Questions (not in text)
12. Discuss the ethics of celebrities endorsing products in foreign countries but not in the United States to
protect their image. Do you think celebrities hurt their reputations by doing endorsements and/or
appearing in ads? Why or why not? (L02)
As discussed in Global Perspective 6-1, many American celebrities who do not appear in ads in the
U.S. make huge sums of money endorsing products and serving as advertising spokespeople in
foreign countries such as Japan. These celebrities will not endorse products in the U.S. because they
think that it is “selling out” and may be damaging to their image. However, by appearing in ads only
in foreign countries they avoid tarnishing their image at home. They take the perspective that they
Chapter 6 – Source, Message, and Channel Factors
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The question as to whether celebrities hurt their reputations by doing endorsements is an interesting
one. Some celebrities do not endorse products or appear in ads because this is viewed as a cash-in,
cash-out capitalistic maneuver. Endorsing products is not viewed as a creative endeavor because the
celebrity is not acting in these commercials, they are endorsing. Obviously the general public knows
13. Most marketers choose an advertising spokesperson or source with high credibility. Discuss some
reasons why it may be unnecessary, or even detrimental, to use a source who is high in credibility.
(L02)
There are some situations where high source credibility may not be necessary and may even be a
liability. A high credibility source is likely to be most effective when message recipients are opposed
to the position advocated in the message as the credible communicator will inhibit counterarguing and
14. Discuss the pros and cons of using a comparative advertising message. Why do you think more high–
profile companies/brands such as Apple, Ford, Subway and Miller Lite are choosing to use
comparative ads? (L03)
There are several advantages to using a comparative advertising message. A comparative ad may be a
way of gaining attention, particularly when a new or lesser-known brand compares itself to a well–
known brand or market leader. Comparative ads also allow a company to directly communicate the
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There are a number of reasons why companies such as Apple, Ford, and Subway are choosing to use
comparative ads. Apple recognized that many personal computer users are experiencing problems
with Microsoft’s new Vista operating system that is used in Windows-based PCs. The comparative
ads used by Apple (“I’m a Mac, I’m a PC) portrayed the Mac character as cool, laid-back and creative
while PC was shown as more of a formal, uptight and nerdy character. The ads were a very clever
way to draw attention to the advantages of the Mac and encourage consumers to consider switching to
The Miller Lite comparative campaign was successful as it was a very effective way to compare the
two brands on the amount of carbohydrates, which had become a very important attribute to many
beer drinkers as a result of the interest in low carb diets. Miller Lite had only half the amount of
carbs as Bud Light and a direct, hard-hitting comparative message was an effective way to
15. What is meant by a primacy versus recency effect? When might an advertiser want to try and achieve
each type of effect? (L03)
Primacy and recency effects deal with the order of argument placement in a persuasive message.
Research on learning and memory generally indicates that items presented at the beginning or end of
a message are remembered better than those presented in the middle. Presenting the strongest
arguments at the beginning of the message assumes a primacy effect whereby information presented
Chapter 6 – Source, Message, and Channel Factors
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16. Assume that you have been asked to consult for a government agency that wants to use a fear appeal
message to encourage college students not to drink and drive. Explain how fear appeals might affect
persuasion and what factors should be taken into consideration in developing the ads. (L03)
Fear can affect persuasion in both a positive and negative manner. An anti-drinking and driving
message with a low level of fear can have facilitating effects if it attracts the attention and interest of
college students and motivates them to consider how they might try to resolve the threat. This
A number of factors should be taken into consideration in developing a fear appeal message for the
college audience. As noted above, college students are a market segment that may require special
consideration when using a fear appeal message. This audience may be likely to discount fear appeal
IMC Exercise
Find an example of three current advertising campaigns that are using at least one of the following source
or message factors:
• a celebrity spokesperson
Chapter 6 – Source, Message, and Channel Factors
Analyze the advertisers’ use of this particular source or message factor. Why do you think the advertiser
chose to use this particular source or type of message? Are the spokespersons and/or messages
appropriate or inappropriate for this particular brand of product or service? How might the use of this type
of source or message impact the way consumers in the target audience respond to the advertising
campaign?
AdForum Exercise: Using Celebrities as Advertising Spokespersons
(See Advertising and Promotion Playlist, Chapter 6)
Part 1
Your assignment is to evaluate the use of three celebrities as advertising spokespersons with respect to
their source characteristics as well as their cultural meaning. Watch the television commercials for Peak
Long Life Antifreeze featuring Danica Patrick; the Electrolux appliance ad featuring Kelly Ripa; and the
Priceline.com spot with William Shatner and answer the following:
1. Evaluate the use of this celebrity as an advertising spokesperson for this company/brand using the
source attributes shown in Figure 6-2.
Part 2
IMC Perspective 6-1 discusses how NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Tom Brady have
become popular advertising spokesmen for various companies. Watch the MasterCard commercials
featuring Manning, the Hyundai and Wrangler commercials featuring Favre, and the Sirius and VISA
commercials featuring Brady and answer the following:
1. How would you describe the image of each of these star NFL quarterbacks and their attributes as
advertising spokesmen?
3. Discuss whether you feel these quarterbacks are effective spokesmen for the company/brands
they are endorsing and defend your position.