It is important to examine periodically the outlets for adllertising research to provide both producers and consumers of that research with an accurate view of topics and trends. For this paper, the content of 10 years of adllertising research in six marketing/adllertising journals was analyzed to determine the direction in which these journal editors, reviewers, and authors are taking the field of adllertising research. Variables examined include adllertising topics researched, empirical methods used, and the journal audience(s) addressed. Sample findings include a significant relationship between the journals and the topics they publish (e.g., JA published research cOliering a lIariety of topics, such as social issues, adllertising practice, and adllertising content, while JAR was more specialized, dellOting Oller half of its content to adlIertising practice alone). JCR has significantly increased publication of adllertising research Oller time, and significant topics of adllertising research remain under-published (e.g., adllertising of services, direct response adllertising, and industrial adllertising). Implications of these and other findings are drawn for adllertising researchers, journal editors and reviewers, and adlIertising/marketing practitioners.Every few months (depending on the publication) advertising researchers, practitioners, and others receive the most recent issues of various scholarly journals in their field. Most peruse the issue briefly, reading only one or two articles thoroughly, while some read each issue cover to cover (Holbert 1977). Frequently an author prophesies future trends and developing issues in the field of advertising. Others occasionally lament the sorry state of the art. But rarely does an article reflect on where the field has been. Our purpose here is to take a backward glance at the field-to look at the last ten years of published advertising research to determine just what advertising scholars have been researching for the last decade.
Study Purpose and Previous Efforts