Temerlin Advertising Institute (TAI) faculty members Carrie La Ferle and Amber Benson were among 25 Dallas women in advertising honored with the 2018 AAF Dallas Shining Stars Award, presented by the Dallas chapter of the American Advertising Federation. The awards were presented June 21 during a dinner ceremony at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas.
Inaugurated in 2017, the Shining Stars Award recognizes Dallas advertising women who are producing thought-provoking and innovative work, breaking through barriers to create something new, or forging partnerships that drive growth. AAF noted on its website that the Shining Stars winners are “community leaders, C-suite executives, co-founders, executive VPs, strategic masterminds, media mavens and more. They are breaking glass ceilings and making the Dallas advertising community look good.”
A noted scholar, Professor La Ferle conducts research on how culture impacts advertising and consumer behavior. She also has taught undergraduate and graduate classes in international advertising and ethics for over 20 years and has won several prestigious teaching recognitions at SMU, including both the Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor and Meadows Distinguished Teaching Professor awards. Benson is an executive-in-residence at TAI and the founder of Seamripper, an insights and innovation agency focused on high-growth companies. As a marketing consultant, she has over 20 years of experience in strategy development, digital marketing, e-commerce and corporate communications.
The impetus for creating the Shining Stars Award was frustration at the lack of recognition for talented women in the field. AAF wrote, “Last year, inspired after attending the Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame event, we googled ‘top women in Dallas advertising’ and the result was ‘The 10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas.’ We thought … Dallas, we can do better than that! After a successful first year, we are proud to say when you google ‘the top women in Dallas advertising’ you will find our inaugural list of Shining Stars from 2017.”
“I commend Dallas AAF for being a leader in developing this award to highlight the many talented women in our field,” said Steve Edwards, chair of TAI. “I am delighted for our Temerlin Advertising Institute to have not one, but two women in advertising selected for this year’s Shining Stars Award. We do great work in Dallas and this award not only celebrates these talented 25 Dallas women, but also our entire Dallas advertising industry.”
Pictured left to right at the 2018 AAF Shining StarS Awards ceremony are TAI guest Tanya Conovaloff; TAI Program Specialist Sandi Edgar, who accepted the award for Amber Benson; TAI guest Kelly Tokarczyk; and TAI professor and award recipient Carrie La Ferle.
It’s time to celebrate another wonderful year of student and faculty accomplishments. We’ve recognized the achievements that make the Temerlin Advertising Institute an award-winning institute at SMU, and we could not be more proud of our talented students and faculty.
Below are all the industry and special awards earned by our students and faculty during the 2017-2018 academic year.
Industry and Special Awards
Industry Recognition
AAF’s Most Promising Multicultural Student – Jennifer Nelson and Eric Sedeño
AAF American Advertising Awards (ADDYs) – Samantha Butz, Lucas Crespo, Tiffany Giraudon, Jolie Guz, Madeline Khare, Grace LaMontagne, Grey McDermid, Kirsty McLauchlan, Caroline Moss, Jennifer Nelson, Helen Rieger, Eric Sedeño, Matthieu Smyth.
AAF Stickell Internship – Austin Inglett and Dalya Romaner.
AFF 10th District Scholarship: Alissa Llort and Avery Lewis
Advertising Education Foundation MADE Internship: Eric Sedeño
Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) Dallas Irene Runnels-Paula McStay Scholarship – Alissa Llort
DFW Interactive Marketing Association Scholarship – Hannah Tymochko
DSVC National Show Best Print Advertising Campaign, Best Copy & Judge’s Choice – Tiffany Giraudon, Laura Walsh and Caroline Moss.
National Student Advertising Competition, SMU-TAI’s Ad Team: Third Place and Special Judges Award for Best Market Segmentation
Student Organizations
SMU Ad Club Officers
Joanna Fennessy
President
Sara Jane Stephens
and Alex Mackillop
Co-Membership Chairs
Lex Pedraza
Treasurer
Peyton Turbeville
Event Planning Chair
Eric Sedeño
Communications
National Student Advertising Competition | Ad Team –
Hayley Banas, Myla Borden, Mary Charles Byers, Amy Cooley, Rita de Obarrio, Harrison Fiveash, Anne-Marie Geisler, Alissa Llort, Alex Mackillop, London Mercer, Shelby Pointer, Juan Reyes, Sara Jane Stephens, Sara Ann Whiteley and Frank Zhang.
SMU Mortar Board Top 10 Sophomore – Rachel Kainer and Jolie Guz
Institute Awards
The Best Students. The Best Faculty. The Best Advertising
TAI STUDENT AWARDS:
TAI Anchor Award – Given to a student(s) who consistently “pulls more than his/her weight” in bringing projects to fruition: Matthieu Smyth.
TAI Donald John Carty Leadership Award –Given to a student(s) in recognition of leadership in the classroom, the Institute and beyond: Cheyenne Tilford.
Face of TAI Award – Given to a student(s) who represents the Institute within Meadows, SMU and/or the advertising industry: Joanna Fennessy
TAI Optimizer Award – Given to a student(s) who demonstrates a desire and aptitude to make work better through superior work strategies and iteration: Alissa Llort and Eric Sedeño.
TAI Outstanding Graduate Student – Given to a student(s) who best represents the academic and professional pursuit of the field: Coral Pisek.
TAI Resilience Award – Given to a student(s) who deals effectively with project setbacks while maintaining a positive attitude and demonstrating a resolve to produce outstanding work: Kirsty McLauchlan
TAI Social Impact Award –Given to a student(s) who exemplifies aspects of social responsibility in their advertising work and beyond: Anna Proctor.
TAI Service Award – Given to a student(s) who renders substantial service to the campus at large as well as in the greater community: Rita de Obarrio
TAI Team Player Award –Given to a student(s) in recognition of contributions to team projects and activities: Sara Jane Stephens and Jolie Guz.
TAI Outstanding Academic Achievement in Creative – Tiffany Giraudon.
TAI Outstand Academic Achievement in Digital – Rachel Kainer.
TAI Outstanding Academic Achievement in Strategic Brand Management – Cheyenne Tilford.
TAI Student Marshal at Graduation – Caroline Moss.
TAI Undergraduate Reader at Graduation – Alex Mackillop
TAI Graduate Reader – Deja Sanders.
TAI FACULTY AWARDS
Scholar of the Year – Dr. Hye Jin Yoon
Service Exemplar – Professor Mark Allen
Teaching Innovator – Professor Cheryl Mendenhall
TAI Research Fellows – Dr. Sidharth Muralidharan and Dr. Carrie La Ferle
Professor Inspiring Excellence –
Student Support Superstars – Dr. Alice Kendrick, Professor Mark Allen, and Professor Willie Baronet
Alissa Llort, a junior advertising student on the Strategic Brand Management track, was this year’s recipient of the 2018 Irene Runnels – Paula McStay Scholarship and the AAF-Tenth District Scholarship.
On April 5, 2018, the Dallas Area Alliance for Women in Media Foundation, Inc. awarded scholarships in the names of Irene Runnels, a distinguished and respected Dallas broadcaster and Paula McStay, a former Fort Worth advertising executive. Alissa was honored for her accomplishment at the Dallas Area Alliance for Women in Media Foundation Award of Excellence Gala. Applicants were considered on the basis of educational and career goals in their major field of study, activities and honors, service to community and references.
Alissa at the Dallas Area Alliance for Women in Media Foundation Award of Excellence Gala.
Alissa feels that Irene Runnels and Paula McStay have truly paved the way for the next generation of women to chase their professional advertising dreams. Alissa’s personal goal is to continue to empower young female leaders based on her college experiences. “I feel proud to have received an award from an organization that supports successful women in the media industry, because when we support each other, we are unstoppable!,” she said. Alissa is currently the marketing director at the Women Ambassadors Forum, a student run non-profit organization that aims to empower women globally through an annual forum held at SMU. In this principal role she leads her team in branding, graphic design, PR, social media and marketing.
A few days later, on April 15, 2018, Alissa was selected to receive the AAF (American Advertising Federation) Tenth District Scholarship, and was honored at the Tenth District Annual Convention in Corpus Christi, Texas during the NSAC (National Student Advertising Competition), Student Reception.
AAF District 10 endorses $2,500 scholarships which are designed to recognize, promote and encourage academically talented students in advertising-related disciplines, helping them to complete their education. Alissa was one of only three students selected to receive this award, competing against applicants from four states, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Tenth District Annual Convention in Corpus Christi, Texas during the NSAC.
According to Alissa, TAI has inspired her to be a professional advertiser even before graduating. “My advertising classes and professors have been key into my growth throughout these two years,” she said.
Please join the Temerlin Advertising Institute in congratulating Alissa on her outstanding achievements. TAI is thrilled to have Alissa’s talents recognized with these prestigious scholarships.
The 2018 SMU-TAI’s Ad Team, led by advisor Professor Amber Benson, competed with universities from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, in the AAF District 10 Convention, ADVENTION, in Corpus Christi, Texas on April 15, 2018. They placed third overall and took home a Special Judges Award for Best Market Segmentation in this year’s National Student Advertising Competition. Additionally, TAI students Avery Lewis and Alissa Llort were awarded AAF Tenth District Scholarships. All-in-all a great weekend!
Third Place and Special Judges Award for Best Market Segmentation
TAI student Harrison Fiveash said he could have not been more excited with the outcome in Corpus Christi. “Not only placing third, but receiving the Special Judges Award for Best Market Segmentation is a true testament to how hard and cohesively our team operated,” he said.
Strategy Development and Research
Ad Team members had been working hard since the beginning of the Spring 2018 semester when they began doing research and strategy development for Ocean Spray, this year’s national client. The challenge was to drive relevancy of the brand for older millennials across both food and beverages.
With the concept BREAK OUT OF THE BOG, the team created a memorable campaign designed to give older millennials, aged 25-34, new reasons to purchase Ocean Spray throughout the year, by leveraging the health benefits, and highlighting Ocean Spray’s responsibility to the environment and to their farmers.
The team was asked to target older millennials, but they broke it down a little further to reveal a sweet spot in the millennial market that would provide Ocean Spray the highest lifetime customer value. How? by introducing the HENRYs. A HENRY is a “High Earner that is Not Rich Yet.” They view the brands they buy as a reflection of themselves, and improve their personal brand equity by buying from brands that they have a positive relationship with. Since HENRYs are both early adopters and social influencers, investing in them would create a halo effect that would influence the rest of the 44 million older millennial target.
After harvesting research insights, the team came to the conclusion that when it comes to the HENRYs, the brand is bogged down. These millennials tend to buy Ocean Spray products during the fall-winter holiday season, are unaware of Ocean Spray’s extensive product line, are skeptical about health claims, and don’t know about all the amazing things Ocean Spray does as a company.
The team decided to build on the existing brand equity of Ocean Spray’s highly popular “Straight from the Bog” campaign by breaking the Bog Guys, Justin and Henry, out of the bog and placing them in scenarios which align with the interests and values of the target market. All they needed to do, was to BREAK OUT OF THE BOG.
Four team members, Amy Cooley, Harrison Fiveash, Alex Mackillop and Sara Jane Stephens presented the team’s work to a panel of industry judges at the competition, with the goal of leveraging Ocean Spray’s social responsibility and their healthier and celebration-worthy products; showing that Ocean Spray could become more than just a Thanksgiving staple, a sugar-filled juice cocktail, and another corporate name.
Presenting Team: Harrison, Sara Jane, Alex and Amy.
Going to Corpus Christi to compete in the National Student Advertising Competition was an incredible experience for Ad Team Leader Sara Jane Stephens. “It was so wonderful to see the team’s handwork pay off. Our presentation went really well, and Harrison, Amy, Alex and I had so much fun presenting our campaign to the judges and the audience,” she said. “I am really proud of the team and very grateful to Dr. Edwards and Professor Benson for their guidance and hard work.”
Ad Team Leader Amy Cooley believes the hard work and late nights that the team put into the entire campaign and presentation were validated by the awards received. “I could not be more excited to have received two awards at NSAC this year,” she said. “This experience more than anything has prepared me for the real world in advertising, and I’m so thankful to have been able to be a part of it all.”
Advertising majors are required to complete ADV 4399 Advertising Campaigns as part of their curriculum. This class combines major advertising theories with practice, allowing students to develop and present an advertising campaign to a real client based on current advertising challenges that the client is facing. Students that take Advertising Campaigns during the Spring semester have the opportunity to participate in the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC). Recent NSAC clients include Tai Pei Frozen Foods (2017) Snapple (2016) Pizza Hut (2015) Mary Kay (2014) Glidden Paint (2013) and Nissan (2012).
TAI Brand Management Student, Alissa Llort, said that being a member of SMU’s Ad Team was her most rewarding college experience. “I just loved the experience and would do it all over again,” she said. “Being part of the SMU Ad Team this semester allowed me to immerse into the actual process of building a campaign and experience the real advertising life!”
Ad Team Members in Corpus Christi, TX: Rita de Obarrio, Anne-Marie Geisler, Alex Mackillop, Harrison Fiveash, Sara Jane Stephens, Amy Cooley, Alissa Llort and Frank Zhang.TAI Students and Faculty at the Awards Presentation in Corpus Christi, TX.
Please join the Temerlin Advertising Institute in congratulating this year’s SMU-TAI’s NSAC team on their outstanding work and accomplishments!
Members of the 2018 SMU-TAI’s NSAC team are: Hayley Banas, Myla Borden, Mary Charles Byers, Amy Cooley, Rita de Obarrio, Harrison Fiveash, Anne-Marie Geisler, Conrad Li, Alissa Llort, Alex Mackillop, London Mercer, Shelby Pointer, Juan Reyes, Sara Jane Stephens, Sara Ann Whiteley and Frank Zhang.
Now that the campaign for Ocean Spray has been created, SMU-TAI’s Ad Team has begun to get their final presentation ready for the AAF District 10 competition in Corpus Christi, TX. The members that were selected to present the team’s work to a panel of judges shared their expectations for the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC).
Amy Cooley– Advertising major on the Strategic Brand Management and Spanish major.
“This is my second year on Ad Team, so it feels good to know what to expect going into the competition. I think that our campaign strategy is really strong, and we have an incredible team of presenters (if I do say so myself) so I’m excited to see how all of our hard work is going to pay off!”
Alex MacKillop – Advertising major on the Strategic Brand Management track with minors in Business and International Studies.
“We have all worked extremely hard for this moment, so I think it will be very satisfying to see all our work come together in the final presentation. Everyone on the team contributed so much to this campaign and we are all very excited to see it through. “
Harrison Fiveash – Advertising major on the Strategic Brand Management track with minors in Communications and Arts Entrepreneurship.
“I cannot wait for all of our hard work to come to fruition. Amy and SJ have been great leaders throughout this process, leading the charge in both coordination and execution. Professor Benson has also been extremely helpful in balancing a hands-off approach with corrective guiding. While there may just be four of us presenting, it took a small army for everything to come together. I hope to win and eventually move on to Chicago, but if not at least we gained a lot of experience and felt the real pressures of a hypothetical campaign.”
Sara Jane Stephens – Advertising major on the Strategic Brand Management track with a minor in Spanish.
“I’m extremely excited for the upcoming NSAC competition in Corpus Christi. Amy, Harrison, Alex and I have a lot of energy, charisma, and chemistry on stage, which makes our presentation memorable. Not to mention, our campaign strategy is really thorough and definitely makes us a strong contender in the competition. We’ve put in a lot of long nights and hard work into this, and I know that will be clear during the presentation!”
SMU-TAI’s Presenting Team: Harrison, Sara Jane, Amy and Alex.
The team will present their integrated campaign at the AAF District 10 Convention, ADVENTION, on April 15, in Corpus Christi, Texas. The winning team(s) from each district will advance to the 2018 semi-finals, which will take place over two days, on May 2–3, 2018. Between 16 and 20 teams will compete for one of eight spots in the finals. Eight finalists will then compete for the national title at the annual ADMERICA conference, which will take place in Chicago, Illinois in early June.
TAI is confident in Ad Team’s effort, abilities and talent. We wish them the best of luck at the NSAC district competition this weekend!
For more information about NSAC please visit the competition website.
The ADDY Awards is the world’s largest advertising competition, receiving over 40,000 entries annually. It is unique among other advertising competitions in that it is the only competition that includes three levels of judging: local, regional and national. For more information about AAF and the ADDY Awards, visit: http://www.americanadvertisingawards.com/
TAI won more awards than all the other 4 schools combined and beat its own all-time record as a program for the number of wins from 2010.
Winning entries were as follows:
STUDENT BEST OF SHOW
CLIENT: An ad for an air purifier
CREDITS: Matthieu Smyth and Jennifer Nelson
JUDGE’S CHOICE
CLIENT: EPIC Meat Snacks
CREDITS: Tiffany Giraudon and Helen Rieger
GOLD AWARD // ART DIRECTION
CLIENT: An ad for an air purifier
CREDITS: Matthieu Smyth and Jennifer Nelson
GOLD AWARD // OUT OF HOME
CLIENT: An ad for an air purifier
CREDITS: Matthieu Smyth and Jennifer Nelson
SILVER AWARD // OUT OF HOME
CLIENT: Zero Gravity Poster Series
CREDITS: Samantha Butz
SILVER AWARD // ONLINE INTERACTIVE
CLIENT: National Parks Service
CREDITS: Eric Sedeño and Madeline Khare
SILVER AWARD // CROSS PLATFORM CAMPAIGN
CLIENT: VH1 Save the Music
CREDITS: Tiffany Giraudon and Caroline Moss
SILVER AWARDS // PRINT
CLIENT: Dr. Bronners
CREDITS: Grace LaMontagne and Jolie Guz
CLIENT: Help USA
CREDITS: Laura Walsh and Caroline Moss
BRONZE AWARD // PRINT
CLIENT: EPIC Meat Snacks
CREDITS: Tiffany Giraudon and Helen Rieger
BRONZE AWARD // COPYWRITING
CLIENT: VH1 Save the Music
CREDITS: Tiffany Giraudon and Caroline Moss
BRONZE AWARD // OUT OF HOME
CLIENT: Ancestry DNA
CREDITS: Tiffany Giraudon and Jolie Guz
BRONZE AWARD // OUT OF HOME
CLIENT: Help USA
CREDITS: Laura Walsh and Caroline Moss
BRONZE AWARD // OUT OF HOME
CLIENT: Airbnb
CREDITS: Laura Walsh and Helen Rieger
BRONZE AWARD // PRINT
CLIENT: Duolingo
CREDITS: Eric Sedeño and Lucas Crespo
TAI Creative Student, Eric Sedeño, said he was thrilled to have won three ADDY Awards this year. “Receiving awards for my work has been so spectacular. It really affirms that I have chosen the right major and the fact that Temerlin has given me an opportunity to be successful outside of the classroom,” he said. “I am so proud of my work and I am so glad other people like it as much as I do. I can’t wait to see if my student campaigns proceed to win more awards!”
The 2018 national ADDY Awards show will take place in Chicago, Illinois on June 8, 2018 in conjunction with The American Advertising Federation (AAF) National Conference, ADMERICA!.
TAI Professor Mark Allen was one of six local advertising professionals to act as a judge for the BBB Serving North Central Texas’s video contest. Students from seven local high schools created 1-minute PSAs about BBB’s services to illustrate the contest theme, “Be Smart. Be Informed,” to North Texas consumers.
Students from local high schools Berkner High School, Booker T. Washington High School, Lagrone Advanced Technology Complex, Lincoln High School, New Tech High School @Coppell, Richardson High School, and Rockwall High School were selected to participate in the competition because of their strong film, journalism, and audio video production programs.
“I was totally blown away by the talent of the students and the advanced capabilities of the winning high school programs—in fact, I had a hard time believing that these were just high school students,” Professor Allen said. “I was equally impressed with the teachers I met from Richardson High School, Berkner High School and New Tech High School in Coppell. I have been talking with all three since the competition and we are making plans to have their students visit SMU to discuss opportunities for collaboration between our students in the future. I’m hoping some of these students might consider applying to TAI’s creative track in the future—we’d sure love to have them.”
The videos were judged on production quality, creativity, the teams’ ability to market them, and effectiveness at representing BBB. The first phase of the contest took place online. The 17 videos submitted racked up an impressive 320,259 likes on this site. The second phase of the contest took place on one of BBB|NCTX’s Facebook pages, where students were encouraged to promote the videos among their friends on Facebook.
TAI Professor Peter Noble speaking at the BBB Video Contest Awards
The winning team was from New Tech High School in Coppell for their video titled, “Don’t be scammed by this guy.” Berkner High School and LaGrone Advanced Technology Complex placed in the top three. The schools of the winning teams will collectively receive $4,000 in donations to their Audio Visual programs. The students of the winning team will each receive a GoPro digital video camera and cash prizes. The winning video will be used in BBB|NCTX marketing efforts for 2018.
TAI also had an information booth at the BBB Student Video Contest Prize Ceremony on December 7.
It’s been a wonderful year here at Temerlin Advertising Institute. With so many creative, industry, and SMU awards earned by our students, we could not be prouder. Along with external awards, we’ve recognized some of our students who go above and beyond what is required of them. Below are all the awards, external and internal, earned by our students during the 2016-2017 academic year.
INDUSTRY:
TAI Assistant Director Amy Dahmann and TAI Team Player Award Winner Matthew Smyth
4A’s Multicultural Advertising Internship Program (MAIP) – Idara Akpan
AAF’s Most Promising Multicultural Student – Marisol Moran-Sendra & Sofia Rosell
AAF American Advertising Awards (ADDYs) – Helen Rieger, Jackson Foley, Liz Martinelli, Morgan Hoff, Samantha Butz, Tiffan Giraudon
AAF Stickell Internship – Alex Gurasich
Advertising Education Foundation of Houston Scholarship – Matthew Smyth, Gyeryeong Kim
Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) Dallas Irene Runnels-Paula McStay Scholarship – Rita De Obarrio
DFW Interactive Marketing Association Scholarship – Rita De Obarrio
DSVC National Show Best Print Advertising Campaign & Best Copy – Morgan Hoff & Tanner Thompson
SMU:
TAI Professor Muralidharan, Assistant Director Amy Dahmann, and TAI Donald Carty Leadership Award Recipient Jessica Giraudon
SMU Mortar Board Top 10 Sophomore – Jolie Guz
Engaged Learning Project – Samantha Butz
Hunt Scholar – Jessica Giraudon
TAI Student Marshal at Graduation – Paige Brown
TAI Undergraduate Reader at Graduation – Tanner Thompson
TAI:
TAI Anchor Award – Julia Christen, Kelsi Jiang
TAI Donald John Carty Leadership Award – Jessica Giraudon
Face of TAI Award – Marisol Moran-Sendra, Tanner Thompson
TAI Optimizer Award – Helen Rieger
TAI Professor Mark Allen and TAI Resilience Award Recipient Laura Walsh
TAI Outstanding Academic Achievement in Creative – Helen Rieger
TAI Outstand Academic Achievement in Digital – Paige Brown
TAI Outstanding Academic Achievement in Strategic Brand Management – Marison Moran-Sendra
TAI Outstanding Graduate Student – Lauren Lombardo
TAI Resilience Award – Laura Walsh
TAI Responsibility Award – Idara Akpan, Rachel Kainer
TAI Service Award – Ryan Blitzer
TAI Team Player Award – Matthew Smyth
HONOR SOCIETIES:
Alpha Delta Sigma – Amy Cooley, Bari Kesner, Gifford Mellick, Greyeong Kim, Helen Rieger, Jessica Giraudon, Joanna Fennessey, Julia Christen, Laura Walsh, London Mercer, Marisol Moran-Sendra, Matthew Smyth, Nicholas McCall, Paige Brown, Rachel Kainer, Tiffany Giraudon
TAI Assistant Professor Sidharth Muralidharan has been published in various academic journals, with five more publications forthcoming. His main research focuses are cross-cultural studies and advertising’s impact on mitigating social and environmental issues.
His most recent accepted publication is titled “‘Green’ with guilt: Assessing gender differences in ownership messaging efforts in support of England’s plastic bag charge.” The paper will be published in the Journal of Advertising Research, one of the major academic journals in the advertising field.
“There have been plastic bag ordinances where shoppers have the option of either buying plastic bags or avoiding the charge by bringing reusable bags,” Professor Muralidharan said. “One such law came into effect in England, UK. My co-author and I were interested to test the effectiveness of the law by exploring the interplay of guilt appeals in ads and gender on shoppers’ green attitudes and behavior.”
Professor Muralidharan and his co-author did a two-part study exploring gender differences in consumers’ feelings of guilt relating to reusable grocery bags in Study-1 and how each gender responded to guilt appeals in Study-2.
“Survey findings from Study-1 showed that guilt was more impactful on women and helped generate favorable green attitudes and behavior,” Professor Muralidharan said. “Based on these findings, Study-2 was designed to examine how men and women would respond to guilt appeals for green messages framed by egoistic (focus is on the self) and biospheric (focus is on the environment) concerns. Two ads were designed that elicited a moderate level of guilt related to egoistic (personal savings from bringing reusable bags) and biospheric (saving the environment by bringing reusable bags) concerns. Findings showed that egoistic concerns were more effective and that this effect was stronger for women than men.”
Professor Muralidharan believes that this research has managerial implications, saying that the UK government and green advertisers could change their messaging to appeal to egoistic values instead of emphasizing on the more typical environmental benefits.
“Guilt elicited by ads seems to motivate shoppers, especially women, to engage in pro-environmental behavior,” Professor Muralidharan said. “Using gender as a segmentation strategy, advertisers could elicit guilt by incorporating ownership messages in egoistic ads that credit shoppers for behaviors they have yet to begin (e.g., contributing to their personal savings by carrying reusable bags). For pro-environment attitudes and behavior to follow, advertisers should highlight egoistic solutions to the problem: benefits such as personal savings and positive emotions such as happiness. By doing so, advertisers will initiate coping mechanisms that allow consumers to mitigate emotional dissonance and encourage them to pursue pro-environment choices.”
Along with his research, Professor Muralidharan teaches four courses at SMU, including undergraduate (Survey of Advertising and Advertising, Society & Ethics), and graduate (Advertising as a Cultural Force and Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship) courses.
“Ethics lacks importance in both college curriculum and the advertising industry,” Professor Muralidharan said. “On reading past student evaluations, I can say that my greatest accomplishment is when our students at the end of the semester realize the value of ethics and social responsibility in advertising.”
Research is a passion of Professor Muralidharan’s. Although it can be very time consuming to be both a professor and a researcher, he uses his love for research as motivation to balance the two.
“I’ve been teaching at SMU since 2012 and will complete five years by end of this semester,” Professor Muralidharan said. “I try to give equal importance to both teaching and research and being organized and strategic can help maintain a healthy balance. For my balancing act, I begin with teaching first since it is more structured and has a schedule in place, while trying to weave in my research endeavors whenever there are no teaching periods in between. Though research is more malleable, I still organize my research projects for the year, including deadlines and target journals. This is imperative in order to achieve my annual research goals.”
Professor Muralidharan has three other publications forthcoming in both the Asian Journal of Communication and the Journal of Promotion Management. Working on so many research projects has taught him the proper equation for doing research as well as improving his patience.
“I always try to work on research projects that explore advertising’s ability to help mitigate social and environmental issues,” Professor Muralidharan said. “During my tenure as a researcher, I have been fortunate enough to work with accomplished researchers and through collaborations I was able to learn new research methods and statistical analyses while at the same time improved my skills as a storyteller. A strong narrative and appropriate method/analysis go hand-in-hand and both are equally important to a study’s publication success. The multiple research projects I have worked on over the years have taught me a major lesson, which is patience. It can take months for a study to transform from an idea to having it published in a journal but the key is to view the journey as a marathon and not a 100-meter dash.”
Tuesday, February 28, the Temerlin Advertising Institute hosted a public screening and Q&A of documentary “Signs of Humanity” at the Angelika Film Center as part of its 2017 ExxonMobil Lecture Series.
Professor Baronet talking to Jennifer and Jesse, a homeless couple in Seattle.
“Signs of Humanity” is a documentary film created by TAI Professor Willie Baronet. The film explores themes of home, homelessness, compassion and humanity as Professor Baronet and his team travel the country collecting over 200 homeless signs and interviewing over 100 people on the streets.
“The event on Tuesday evening really opened my eyes to the important work that Willie is doing, and how many people are willing to help him,” SMU student Dalya Romaner said. “The documentary was beautiful, and I feel that everyone watching it could connect to some aspect of it, whether it was one person he interviewed, or a reason for his project, or even a city he visited. Let’s just say, I now look up to Willie not only as a professor, but as a human being, and a change maker in a world desperately needing change.”
Each year TAI hosts lectures and events as part of the ExxonMobil Lecture Series. The series is one of many ways that TAI advocates its motto “Better Advertising. Better World.” This lectures series helps to promote advertising, media and corporate ethics by hosting events to discuss varying ethical topics that can be related to advertising.
Crowd at the screening event.
“We are so pleased to recognize the creative work of Professor Baronet,” Steven Edwards, Director of the Temerlin Advertising Institute, said. “Offering the public an opportunity to view ‘Signs of Humanity,’ recognize important supporters of the project, and create a space to spur on the conversation about homelessness is part of our larger mission to positively impact our community.”
Many TAI students, as well as faculty and local industry professionals, attended the event. The night started off with a reception and networking, followed by a brief recognition of documentary creator and producers, the screening of the film, and finally a Q&A with Professor Baronet and other producers of the documentary.
“Willie and his filmmakers did a great job of providing an open-minded glimpse into the world of homelessness nationwide,” Romaner said. “They didn’t come in with preconceived notions, they treated everyone as humans, not as homeless people, and it was beautiful to watch. I really feel that it gave everyone an idea of something small we can all do to help the homeless community around us, even as small as acknowledging that they are humans too. I think the most important takeaway from the film, the event, and Willie himself, is that we need to see everyone as people going through their own struggles, and it’s that commonality that gives us the chance to connect so the world is not made up of ‘us vs. them.’”
From left to right: Professor Baronet, Director Tim Chumley, Producer Judy Burch Gass, Producer Eamon Downey
Professor Baronet is doing important work to shine a light on homelessness. The event was an opportunity for the entire faculty and Professor Baronet’s students to celebrate what has been his two-year journey to film, edit, and showcase his project. This work has provided learning opportunities for students to reflect on the intersection of art, advertising, film-making, and creative expression in a persuasive context.
“I loved when Willie said in the film that the sign exhibit isn’t about him, it’s about the people he’s doing this for,” TAI alum Mallory Ashcraft said. “As a writer and former advertising student of Willie’s, I related to that inner dialogue, and I was so inspired by the fact that he tells the story of the homeless very honestly. I think everyone needs to see this film, because it showed me that we can all do more to emotionally support the homeless individuals in our communities and cities.”
“Signs of Humanity” is the product of a larger, ongoing art project, WE ARE ALL HOMELESS, which began when Willie purchased his first homeless sign in 1993. The project’s mission is to create a more compassionate world by creating awareness and provoking conversations about people on the streets, and inspiring others to find and implement solutions to the many causes of homelessness.
Learn more about WE ARE ALL HOMELESS and their Impact Campaign here.
