When a movie rolls out in stages, how do you decide where the ad dollars go first week in theaters, later weeks, discs and TVOD, then streaming? In this episode, Prof. Sönke Albers walks me through his Journal of Advertising Research article, “Optimal Rules for Advertising Budget Allocation Across Movie Versions Marketed in Sequential Distribution Stages.”

Sönke explains a simple, Excel-friendly rule that accounts for both stage size and long-term ad elasticity, plus the carryover and spillover that early ads create for later stages. The takeaway is clear: when there are meaningful carryover effects, front-loading spend early typically pays twice, but you still need to weight each stage by its expected profit and responsiveness. He also shows how the cascading structure scales to any number of release stages and why optimizing real profit beats rules that only look at elasticities.

We talk practicals for studios and any brand with staggered launches books, games, product lines and why getting decent elasticity estimates can materially improve outcomes.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2464282

Listen to the podcast here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2250188

And watch this and more content on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/@journalofadvertisingresearch

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

How is generative AI changing the creative process inside agencies? In this episode, Carla Ferraro, Sean Sands, and Vlad Demsar join me to unpack insights from their Journal of Advertising Research article, “Harmony or Discord? The Intersection of Generative AI and Human Creativity in Advertising,” coauthored with Andrew Kohn.

We talk about what senior agency leaders are actually doing with GenAI right now, where it reliably speeds up ideation, testing, and production, and where human guidance is still essential. The team shares why originality, ethics, and over-reliance on historical data remain real concerns, plus practical guardrails around brand fit, copyright, and data privacy. We also get into training and transparency, how teams can treat AI as a creative partner rather than a replacement, and smart next steps for research on consumer reactions and team workflows.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2464305

Listen to the podcast here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2250188

And watch this and more content on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/@journalofadvertisingresearch

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

Does calling out AI in your creative spark conversation or scare people off? In this episode, Sara Hanson, Jeffrey Carlson, and Heather Pressler unpack their Journal of Advertising Research article, “The Differential Impact of AI Salience on Advertising Engagement and Attitude: Scary Good AI Advertising.”

We dig into AI salience, meaning how obvious it is that AI made the ad through disclosures or clearly AI-looking imagery. Across four studies, they find a split effect. AI-salient ads boost engagement like more likes and longer comments, but they also trigger fear and reactance that lower ad attitudes and can dampen conversion intent. The team talks about how to handle disclosures, where AI fits along the funnel, and why finding the right balance is key.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2464307

Listen to the podcast here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2250188

And watch this and more content on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/@journalofadvertisingresearch

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

What really changes inside an ad agency when GenAI shows up? In this episode, Weila Cui joins us to unpack her Journal of Advertising Research article, “Exploring the Integration of Generative AI in Advertising Agencies: A Co-Creative Process Model for Human–AI Collaboration,” coauthored with Martin J. Liu and Ruizhi Yuan. Interviewed by David Ji, Weila walks us through a practical four-stage roadmap—readiness, co-creativity (co-inspiration → co-generation → co-calibration), validation (agency + client loops), and execution—that shows GenAI isn’t just speeding things up; it’s reshaping how ideas emerge, get refined, and make it to market. 

We dig into what “good” looks like in real workflows: building team mindset and skills, structuring feedback loops, balancing rapid AI ideation with human judgment, and tightening cross-functional handoffs so AI-assisted concepts ship cleanly across channels. We also get candid about the bumps—creative resistance, unpredictable outputs, cultural and brand-fit issues, and evolving legal/ethical questions—and how agencies are documenting prompts, fine-tuning models, and codifying best practices to learn project by project.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2024.2445362

Listen to the podcast here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2250188

And watch this and more content on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/@journalofadvertisingresearch

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

Where’s the line between “helpful” and “a bit creepy”? In this episode, Dr. Pengfei Xie joins me to unpack findings from his Journal of Advertising Research article, “The Inverted U-Shaped Effect of Personalization on Consumer Attitudes in AI-Generated Ads: Striking the Right Balance Between Utility and Threat,” coauthored with Hongjie Sun and Yan Sun. 

We break down their core result: consumer attitudes peak at a moderate level of personalization—then drop off when ads get overly tailored. Pengfei explains the psychology behind it (a utility-vs-threat trade-off they call PUTD) and why privacy concerns make that curve even steeper. We also talk through their trio of experiments across categories (travel, sports drinks, smart speakers) and what it means for marketers in practice: segment for privacy sensitivity, be transparent about data use, and shoot for the “just-right” middle.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2462405?src=exp-la

Listen to the podcast here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2250188

And watch this and more content on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/@journalofadvertisingresearch

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

Can the fit between an ad and the program around it change how long people watch? In this episode, Dr. Wen Xie joins me to share insights from his Journal of Advertising Research article, “An Empirical Examination of the Ad Program Congruence Effect on Ad Viewing Behaviors: Evidence from TVision Data,” coauthored with Ming Chen and Chunxiao Xue.

Wen and I talk through what happens when ad themes line up with program themes, drawing on millions of second-by-second attention records from TVision. He explains why congruence lifts attention in some categories like entertainment and finance, but not in others like politics or food. We also dive into when in the program congruence makes the most difference, and why the beginning and end of a show are sweet spots. Wen also shares how they measured “fit” between ads and programs and what this means for media planning going forward.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2464286?src=exp-la

Listen to the podcast here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2250188

And watch this and more content on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/@journalofadvertisingresearch

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

Can AI imagery hurt luxury advertising? In this episode, Rita Ngoc To, Parichehr “Perry” Kianian, Yi-Chia Wu, and Zhe Zhang unpack their Journal of Advertising Research article, “When AI Doesn’t Sell Prada: Why Using AI-Generated Advertisements Backfires for Luxury Brands.” The team walks through three studies that span a real email field test and two lab experiments. The throughline is clear. When a luxury ad discloses AI-generated imagery, people infer low effort, see the ad as less authentic, and respond less favorably. Mainstream brands do not suffer the same hit. The group also shows a practical fix. Use AI to create highly creative visuals. Strong creativity lifts perceived effort and authenticity, which softens the negative impact of disclosure. 

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2454120

Listen to the podcast here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2250188

And watch this and more content on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/@journalofadvertisingresearch

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

What happens when a virtual influencer reveals a sponsorship? In this episode, Dr. Jiemin Looi (Hong Kong Baptist University) joins us to discuss her Journal of Advertising Research article, “Sponsorship Disclosure in Virtual Influencer Marketing: Assessing Users’ Sentiment and Engagement Toward Virtual Influencer Endorsements,” coauthored with Anna Kim and Zihang Yi.

Dr. Looi explains how the team combined computational analysis and an online experiment to uncover the complexities of sponsorship disclosure in virtual influencer marketing. In Study 1, they analyzed 48,147 Instagram comments on Lil Miquela’s posts, using topic modeling, sentiment and emoji analysis, and engagement metrics. Results revealed a paradox: users showed more positive sentiment toward sponsored posts, but engagement was stronger for non-sponsored content. In Study 2, a controlled experiment with 159 U.S. Instagram users replicated these effects—non-sponsored posts drove higher parasocial interaction and engagement. Interestingly, the findings also challenged the Persuasion Knowledge Model, showing that sponsorship disclosures did not activate defensive skepticism in the way theory predicts.

The conversation touches on users’ ongoing confusion about whether virtual influencers are human or machine, how “uncanny valley” effects create both admiration and discomfort, and why brands need to interpret engagement metrics more cautiously when working with AI-powered personas. Dr. Looi also shares practical advice for advertisers on balancing transparency, authenticity, and trust in this emerging space.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2464300

Listen to the podcast here:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2250188

And watch this and more content on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/@journalofadvertisingresearch

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/

To keep up to date on the latest JAR news sign up for our newsletter:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/mtD04QN

And follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/82528291/admin/