Exploring Life Themes and Myths in Alcohol Advertisements through a Meaning-Based Model of Advertising Experiences

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Abstract
A meaning-based, reader-response model of advertising is applied to a study of college students exposed to alcohol advertisements to describe (1) how life experiences influence consumers' experiences of advertisements and (2) how the powerful alcohol-related “myths” identified in previous content analyses are also identified by the targets of the ads. Interpretive analysis of in-depth interviews reveals that informants' life themes are evident in their experiences of alcohol advertisements, suggesting that ad interpretations are a function of highly individual cognitions developed by young people about themselves, alcohol, and advertising during their lives. The findings support the notion that advertising should be analyzed holistically and in context to understand the powerful meanings consumers experience in advertising messages in general and in alcohol advertising in particular.