Advertising literacy. Understanding the communicative nature of advertising

Only abstract. Paper copies of master’s theses are listed in the Helka database (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Electronic copies of master’s theses are either available as open access or only on thesis terminals in the Helsinki University Library.Vain tiivistelmä. Sidottujen gradujen saatavuuden voit tarkistaa Helka-tietokannasta (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Digitaaliset gradut voivat olla luettavissa avoimesti verkossa tai rajoitetusti kirjaston opinnäytekioskeilla.Endast sammandrag. Inbundna avhandlingar kan sökas i Helka-databasen (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Elektroniska kopior av avhandlingar finns antingen öppet på nätet eller endast tillgängliga i bibliotekets avhandlingsterminaler.The purpose of the study is to develop and clarify the concept of advertising literacy, and to understand the communicative nature of advertising. To enable the analysing of advertising and advertising literacy as communicative objects, the concepts and conceptualisations of (i) advertising, (ii) communication and (iii) reception must be analysed: what kinds of concepts are being used and what should they be? Therefore the fundamental questions of the research are: what is advertising? How should it be conceptualised? What kind of communication is advertising? How should the interpreter be seen? What is advertising literacy? Advertising literacy as a concept is being approached from three perspectives. From the research perspective, advertising literacy is a concept that enables the study of advertising from the communications theories’ perspective. From the receiver’s point of view, advertising literacy is part of the personal, practical ability to understand commercial messages and the media structures that shape them. From the communicator’s perspective, advertising literacy is part of the communicative skills of advertising professionals. The premises of the research are both theoretical and concept-analytical. Concepts of advertising are being analysed through academic advertising literature with a communicative approach, and their critique. Since the methodological foundations of the studies of advertising are diffuse and ambiguous, one aim of the research is to gather, analyse and criticise the concepts, beliefs and meta-theoretical assumptions that lie behind the literature on advertising. These have so far not been systematically analysed in advertising research. One aim of this, is to motivate further research by providing concepts and ideas of why and how advertising should be studied. Besides this, the communicative research perspective on advertising is being built up in the research.Opponent: prof. Merja Salo Custos: prof. Ullamaija Kivikur