Chapter 1 -2nd Draft

  CHAPTER I

      INTRODUCTION

Rationale of the Study

      In front of the Mcdonalds fast food are two children of about the same age. The girl asks the boy if she can be his girlfriend. The boy says he is not yet ready for a relationship. He doesn’t want a girlfriend because girlfriends are demanding. But he immediately changes his mind when the girl tells her that all she wants is Mcdo fries. Then they walk while holding each others’ hands after they have bought the Mcdo fries.

      The scenario described above is the controversial commercial from Mcdonalds which was aired on the summer of 2011. The Mcdo ‘bf-gf’ tv commercial was pulled out after few months of national airing upon the request of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) due to the possibility that the commercial will convey wrong messages to the young viewers. Moreover, CBCP reasoned out that the characters in the commercial were not at the right age to get involved in a romantic relationship; the commercial was “very shallow” and “cheapened human relationships”.

      The request of the CBCP created controversy whether the commercial deserves to be pulled out. For this reason, the researchers got interested on the perception of the target audience on whether they agree to the opinion of the CBCP concerning the commercial. By determining the perception of the fourth year students, the researchers will be able to evaluate the validity of the request of the CBCP and the suitability of the commercial for national airing.

      Meanwhile, the McDo ‘Bf-Gf’ tv commercial is just an example of how commercials could possibly offend the norms and traditions of our society.  Furthermore, since advertising is used to convey information and to persuade the audience to take some actions, it has the power to convince and influence the people on the messages that it gives to the audience. Thus, advertising has to observe ethical standards and norms to avoid causing offense to some of the societal beliefs. This means that commercials must be careful on the limit of its creativity.

      Moreover, the characters age and behavior in the commercial can possibly influence the children’s perception on romantic relationship. There is a great chance that the message of the commercial will be misinterpreted because children and adolescents are unable to distinguish whether the behavior or a scene depicted in a tv commercial represents appropriate values in a society and culture. There is a greater chance that a “field” of behavior will be presumed irrationally as “realistic” by people specially the young ones who have little knowledge about it (Sut Jhally, 2003). 

      To avoid misinterpretation, the children have to acquire some skills that enable them to question the things they observe in the environment (Clark, 2011).  These skills are the “ability to critically analyze the media messages” and the “ability to use different kinds of communication technologies for self-expression and communication” (Clark, 2011).

       To be able get the different perception of students who have different types of environment, the researchers decided to conduct the survey on three types of school which are the catholic, public and the laboratory high schools. Since these schools are presumed to have different curriculum, the teachers’ manner of disciplining the students may also vary as well as the ways of teaching moral values to the students.

      The main objective of the catholic schools is to produce students that are not just competent in terms of academic excellence but as well as students who are able to apply in their lives the religious doctrines, traditions and practices taught in their formal education through their religion and values education subjects (UNO-R Institute of Research, 1976). Chen (2007) also adds that teachers from private secondary schools such as the catholic schools are more likely to influence the students’ perception, performance, and behavior since they have better control on the implementation of student discipline policies and others.

      On the other hand, the public schools are more liberal in their curriculum because the main purpose of the public schools is to provide cheap yet quality education to those who cannot afford education in private schools. Since public and laboratory schools are intended for everybody these schools are usually not religiously affiliated (Chen, 2007).

      Furthermore, the laboratory schools have a liberal type of curriculum because this type of school is science-based. Due to the fact that laboratory schools are more focused on the academic performance of the students, these schools do not have religion education or values education subjects in their curriculum.

      The discussion above presented the background of the commercial, the controversies it made, and the researchers’ reason of choosing to conduct a comparative study on the perception of the students from the different types of school. Moreover, the influence of a commercial on children who are the most vulnerable group in the society was also discussed. The study would be useful in verifying the validity of the evaluation of the CBCP on the messages that the commercial convey. Through comparing the perception of the respondents from the three different types of school, the researchers will be able to determine whether the commercial is offensive on their view and if it promotes messages that are against the cultural norms.  

Statement of the Problem and Objectives of the Study

      Determine and compare the perception of the fourth year students from the selected catholic, public and laboratory high schools towards the Philippine Mcdo bf-gf tv commercial.

      The problem specifically aimed to answer the following sub problems and objectives of the study: 

 

1. To determine the general message of the Mcdo bf-gf tv commercial based on

      students’  interpretation from:

a.    Catholic high school (USC North Campus) 
b.    Public high school (Abellana National High School)

      c.    Laboratory high school (UP High School)

       

2.  To know whether the characters used in the Mcdo ‘bf-gf’ tv commercial are

      appropriate?

a.    Catholic high school (USC North Campus) 
b.    Public high school (Abellana National High School)

      c.    Laboratory high school (UP High School) 

3.  To determine the evaluation of students on the storyline of the tv commercial

a.    Catholic high school (USC North Campus) 
b.    Public high school (Abellana National High School)

      c.    Laboratory high school (UP High School)

4.  To know the assessment of students on whether the Mcdo bf-gf tv commercial is (still) suitable for TV airing (or for general audience)

a.    Catholic high school (USC North Campus) 
b.    Public high school (Abellana National High School)

      c.    Laboratory high school (UP High School)

 

5.  To find out if there is a difference on the perception of the respondents towards

      the McDo bf-gf tv commercial. 

 

6.  To determine if there is a significant relationship of the type of school of the

      respondents and their perception on the McDo 'bf-gf' tv commercial. 

 

 

 

Significance of the Study

      The study has conducted to determine the perception of the fourth year students towards the Mcdo ‘bf-gf’ tv commercial and to determine whether the commercial conveys wrong messages to the young viewers.

      The study could be of great help to the schools mentioned because it evaluates the effectiveness of their curriculum and influence to the moral aspect of the students based on the interpretation of the students.

      To the parents, the study will be a helpful tool in assessing their decision of sending their children to a particular school based on its established reputation. This is due to the possibility that the school would only have little effect on the attitudes of the students. Thus, the parents could not easily blame the school for some disagreeable manners of their children because most of their values are learned at home. Hence, the school becomes an avenue of the students’ expression of what they have acquired from their family. To support this is a study by Astill, Feather, and Keeves (2002) showed that the teachers’ values and school type had no significant effects on the values of the students.  

      To the advertisers, the study could be beneficial for them to be careful not to surpass the standards of the society and not to offend the beliefs of the viewers. They must realize that creativity is important to attract consumers yet they have to put into consideration the cultural norms of the society. The country has become more open-minded and adapted the modern ways of western people but not to the point of turning back to its own costumes and traditions.

CHAPTER IV (2nd Draft)

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY   

Research Design

            The research study seeks to compare the perception of students from different schools towards a commercial. The study will use the descriptive method of research because it will describe and compare the perception of the respondents who are from different environment towards a specific tv commercial. This type of method will be used to further understand how the respondents perceive the commercial in relation to the respondents’ type of school.

Research participants

            The respondents of the study will come from three different types of school respectively from catholic, public and laboratory high school. The total number of the respondents will be 30 students; 10 students from each of the school.

The respondents will specifically be fourth year high school students from USC North Campus, UP High School and Abellana National High School. These schools were particularly chosen for these are appropriate to the objective of the study which is to compare the perception of the fourth year high school students from catholic, laboratory and public high schools towards the McDo ‘Bf-Gf’ tv commercial. Needless to say, the researchers will be able to compare if there is a significant relationship between the type of school of the respondents and their perception.

Research instruments

            To acquire the needed information that will be used in the study, the researchers will use a laptop to show to the respondents the commercial that they will evaluate and questionnaires which will be answered by the students based on what they have seen.

The type of questions in the questionnaire will include factual and opinion. The former contains the respondents’ demographic data and the latter is necessary to elicit the perception of the students towards the commercial. The structures of the questions are close-ended for the convenience of analyzing the data.

The questionnaire will be divided into three parts: personal background, perception of the commercial and the school background. The first part which is the personal background will include the name, age, sex, religion, school, the number of years studying in the school and whether they have values or religion subject in their school. The second part which is about their perception toward the commercial will be divided accordingly into three parts: the message of the commercial, the characters/actors in the commercial and the appropriateness of the commercial for national tv airing. Lastly, the third part will include questions about the school’s views on moral values which is being taught to the students. The questions in the first and the second part are in the form of rating while the third and the last part is answerable by yes or no. 

Sampling

            Due to the researchers’ limited time to conduct the research, the study will use the non probability sampling method specifically the convenience sampling. This sampling method gives the researchers the freedom to conveniently decide which sample to participate in the study. Aside from that, the researchers will only depend on the availability of the respondents. The researchers will not be so specific and strict in choosing the respondents as long as they fit to be the study’s requirement.

The students who will be the study’s respondents are those who studied in their school from first to fourth year. To be able to determine the influence of the school towards the formation of attitude and values of the students, it is therefore required that they have spent at least almost 4 years in their school. By this, the researchers will be able to compare the significant differences of the respondents’ perception towards the tv commercial.

Data collection

            The researchers will render two weeks to acquire the data needed in the study. The researchers will show first the commercial before distributing the questionnaires to the respondents. After showing the video of the commercial, the respondents will each be given a questionnaire which will be answered with necessary accurate and honest information. The data that will be gathered will then be grouped according to the schools the respondents belong.

Data analysis

            The answers of the students from the three different schools obtained from the questionnaire will be tabulated and analyzed by separating the respondents according to the type of school. The researchers will determine the differences of the data by comparing the answers from each of the type of school. They will analyze the data based on the parts in the questionnaire: what message the students grasp from the commercial, the appropriateness of the characters of the commercial, the suitability of the commercial for national airing and the school background of the students. This will enable the researchers in identifying the possible patterns of similarities or differences among the perception of the students towards the commercial.

CHAPTER III (2nd Draft)

CHAPTER III

STUDY FRAMEWORK

Theoretical Framework

            The study will determine if the student’s immediate environment which is the school has an influence on their perception towards a specific advertisement that depicts a societal issue. To support the study, theories will be used in order to explain well the factors and variables of the study.

            The environment contributes a great influence on the formation of an individual’s cognitive and affective disposition. To support the idea of the environment’s influence to the people is the theory by Carl Hovland which is the Social Learning Theory.  This theory which was used by Enoc in her study states that an idea constantly communicated to an individual will result to “attitude change” or learning (Enoc, 1999). The frequent exposure of some ideas and values being taught within the person’s realm of social consciousness will have an influence on his/her perception towards the things around. Furthermore, a person who is from a conservative family will likely to develop a conservative disposition and perception while a person from a liberated family is more acquainted to liberal ideas, and has a liberal disposition and perception.

            In addition, Bandura and Walters (1997) expanded this theory by considering the principle of observational learning. This principle explains that a person learns certain values from mere observation of the actions and behaviors of the people that surround him/her (Bandura and Walters, 1997).  This theory supports the idea that the social environment which includes the people can affect the person’s attitude and actions.

Meanwhile, another theory formulated by Severin and Tankard (1992) called the Individual Difference Theory supports the idea of the theory mentioned earlier about the influence of environment to an individual’s perception. This says that the people’s response on the information presented by the media varies due to the “individual’s own set of experiences, needs and personality structures”. (Severin and Tankard, 1992). Furthermore, two persons who come from the same environment are most likely to develop the same perception towards a specific idea compared to two persons who come from different types of environment.

Figure 1 shows the systematic flow of the study.  The diagram starts with the first variable which is the environment because the study presumes that this variable affects the student’s perception towards the tv commercial. This is supported by the Social Learning Theory as stated above. On the other hand, the students’ response towards the advertisement varies due to their differences not only in their social environment but also to their own set of experiences and beliefs. This is described in Severin and Tankard’s Individual Difference Theory.

 Figure 1. Theoretical Framework.

Conceptual Framework

Social Learning theory and Individual Difference Theory are the theories used to support the basis of studying the relationship between the difference in environment and perception of viewers towards a particular commercial. To be more familiar about intention of the study, it is best to integrate the theories to the variable of the study itself.

The Social Learning Theory refers to the role of the environment towards influencing the perception of an individual; that an individual’s attitude and perception is affected by the social environment (Enoc, 1999). Aside from it, this theory emphasizes the importance of the ideas that are constantly communicated to the individual resulting to learning and adaptation of these ideas from one’s environment.

In relation to the study, the researchers are able to formulate assumptions that the students’ attitude towards some societal norms is governed and influenced by the teachers, the type of education and the students in the school. Hence, the students from different types of school may show different perceptions toward the advertisement considering the differences of the ideas present in the environment in which the students are exposed.

The theory supports the notion that the students will perceive the advertisement differently due to the fact that the teachers from the different types of the schools have different way of morally educating their students and that they are also following the curriculum of the school.

Moreover, private catholic high schools are considered to be conservative because of the religion study and devotional exercises that are imposed to the school’s curriculum for the students to learn and apply the Christian practices. Moreover, this type of school has been established to provide not just education for the youth but above other goals is to pursue religious objectives (UNO-R Institute of Research, 1976). Because the school’s objective is for their students to form and develop the “true and perfect Christian“, this type of school provides programs into its curriculum that follow the religious study and devotional exercises (UNO-R Institute of Research, 1976). In addition, the teachers from this school have greater influence on the students’ perception, performance, and behavior because they have more control on the implementation of student discipline policies (Grace Chen, 2007).

Meanwhile, public high schools are more liberal in their education considering the school’s curriculum does not focus on religion so as to accommodate the increasing number of students in the country.

The laboratory or special science high schools are also liberal in education compared to catholic schools due to the fact that these schools have a science based curriculum which concentrates on the students’ advancement on subjects that particularly focus on science and technology.

Hence, through constant exposure to the ideas present in the school, the students will eventually develop and adapt the same pattern of predisposition.

Furthermore, the Individual Differences Theory by Severin and Tankard (1992) provides support to the assumptions. The students’ responses will vary because they come from different schools and they have different experiences, needs and personalities.

Figure 2 shows a clearer diagram that contains the variables of the study. The intervening variable now specifically refers to the type of schools particularly the catholic, public and laboratory. The study presumes that this varying type of school is the factor that mainly affects and influences the perception of the students towards the tv advertisement.

Figure 2. Conceptual Framework.

Operational Framework

            To provide a more comprehensive illustration of the study, it is necessary for the researchers to thoroughly discuss the factors and variables that are present in the study.

The dependent variable which is the fourth year high school student is influenced by the intervening variable which is the type of school. The independent variable of the study is the Mcdo ‘Bf-Gf’ tv commercial which presents a message that will determine how the students perceive the things around them.

The type of school includes the catholic, public and laboratory high school. A school is selected to represent the three different types of secondary school of the respondents. The University of San Carlos is chosen to represent the private catholic school; University of the Philippines High School Cebu for the laboratory school, and lastly, Abellana National High School for the public high school.

The students from University of San Carlos, a private catholic school, are expected to be conservative due to the fact that they are exposed to conservative ideas through their religion and values education subject. On the other hand, Abellana National School accepts students with different types of religion. Thus, public schools generally do not have religion education to respect each of the students’ religion. Lastly, the UP High School Cebu which is a laboratory high school has a curriculum which is particularly focused on the academic learning of the students. The education in this type of school is centered on the field of science and mathematics which is reflective on its advance science-based curriculum.

The McDo ‘BF-GF’ tv commercial is selected as the commercial that will be evaluated by the fourth year high school students. The researchers specifically chose the said commercial because the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) requested for its pull out after few months of national viewing. The CBCP reasoned out that the commercial depicts a degrading concept of romantic relationship and it demeans the dignity of women.

Figure 3 illustrates detailed information about the study. The respondents of the study represent the catholic, laboratory and public high schools. In connection to, these types of school have different curriculum that are responsible toward the formation of the students’ cognitive and behavior disposition. Hence, they are able to perceive the McDo ‘Bf-Gf’ tv commercial differently.

Figure 3. Operational Framework

Mangmang, Norren

Saripada, Naressa Belle A.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

In this chapter, the important variables related to the study are discussed.  To achieve a comprehensive analysis on the relationship between the type of school of the respondents and their perception towards advertising specifically on television commercials, there is a need to evaluate and distinguish the differences of catholic, public and specialized high schools- how these types of school affect their behavior and perception about the things around them. Aside from that, there is a need to determine and understand the concept of advertising and its role in the society.

The researchers will first explain some important aspects of the catholic, public and laboratory/special science high schools that may determine the behavior of the students and affect their perception towards appropriate moral values in the society. Next is the discussion about the role of advertising, its moral obligation, and influence on the society. The final topic is the different perceptions of people towards television commercials, particularly the young adults and students.

Importance of school

School is an important tool where students learn the skills of analyzing, and understanding certain ideas and ideologies in a society. It is the place where students form and develop their political, social and spiritual aspects in life. Moreover, W.T.S. Gould (1993) states that schools are important in the socialization of children. Children are prepared in this place how to fit in as members in the “local community and the national society” (Gould, 1993). They are subjected to ideas that will make them aware of the circumstances in the society as well as the people and events in their immediate environment (Gould, 1993). The author further points out that school are the ones responsible in promoting the national culture to the children.

Types of Secondary Schools

According to the UNESCO, there exist three types of secondary schools in the Philippines. These are public, private and special/laboratory secondary schools. Public high schools are under the administration and supervision of the Department of Education and are being financially supported by the Philippine government. On the other hand, private high schools are usually owned by religious groups, others are by organizations or individuals. Private schools still need to follow the rules and legal guidelines and requirements as set by the Department of Education as a secondary school. Private school admission usually costs higher amount compared to public schools which is intended to be generally free for everybody. Meanwhile, special/laboratory schools are under or attached to the State University and Colleges. Its purpose is to serve as the laboratory classes for the students taking education program. Laboratory schools usually share the resources of their respective State University and Colleges in terms of budget.

Secondary schools in the Philippines do not only differ in terms of educational structure and function; there are also certain aspects in which they are relatively distinct. These include the religious affiliation, the implementation of student disciplinary policies and the influence of the teachers towards the student’s behavior, attitude and beliefs.

Grace Chen (2007) points out that among the three types of secondary school, the private schools are the ones that are religiously affiliated, though there are some exceptions. Public and laboratory schools are usually not religiously affiliated since these are intended for everybody. Moreover, Chen also adds that teachers from private secondary schools have more likely to have an influence on the students’ perception, performance, and behavior since they have better control on the implementation of student discipline policies and others.

A study by UNO-R Institute of Research (1976) entitled “Student religious activities as learning experiences in catholic schools in Negros Occidental Philippines: objectives, structures and processes” discusses on the importance and influence of the school on the students’ behavior and attitude. The study says that catholic schools are owned and managed by the Catholic church or religious orders. It also emphasizes that the students in the catholic school should not just reflect on the religious doctrines, traditions and practices in their formal education but must apply in their “everyday living” their religious principles (UNO-R Institute of Research, 1976).

            Catholic schools have been established for the purpose of providing not just education for the youth but to pursue religious objectives over and above other goals. This type of school proposes programs into its curriculum that conform to the religious study and devotional exercises. Through this, the school’s objective which is to form and develop the “true and perfect Christian“ is attained (UNO-R Institute of Research, 1976).

Effects of school to the attitude and behavior of students

A research study by Astill, Feather and Keeves (2002) examines the influence of schools on the attitude and values of students. The study suggests that if the school influences the attitude of the students, it is because of the teachers, administrators, curriculum and policies (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002). However, the school may not directly affect the values of the students as they may have learned these values from their family and peer groups outside the school (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002). Moreover, the school will only serve as an avenue for their expression of the values learned (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002). The findings of the study showed that the teachers’ values and school type had no significant effects on the values of the students (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002). Furthermore, the study implies that if the school has little effect on the attitudes of the students, then the parents’ basis for choosing a particular type of school which they think can improve the values of their children is not reliable (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002). The study contradicts the notion that the school is the teaching agent of social values except for situations in which the school reflects the same values taught by the family and the values of the students themselves (Astill, Feather and Keeves, 2002).

Role and influence of advertising to children and teenagers

Advertising is an art of communication which is used to convey information about a product, service or idea by an identified sponsor directed to groups of people for the purpose of persuading them to take some action (Arens, 2006).

Television advertising has functioned not only in endorsing products but also in influencing the society particularly on people’s lives through the message and values it conveys.

Wells, Burnett and Moriarty (1995) state that advertising is noticeable, manipulative and controversial. Because of that, it can easily attract the attention of the citizens, the media, government and competitors (Wells, Burnett and Moriarty, 1995) and can affect how the audience socialize or interact with the people (Peirce, 2007).

As Arens (2006) quoted in his book entitled Contemporary Advertising: “Advertising is both applauded and criticized not only for its role in selling products but also for its influence on the economy and on society. For years, have denigrated advertising for a wide range of sins – some real, some imagined.”

In advertising, perception of people towards advertisement is significant in determining the effectiveness of the commercial. Advertisers give importance to these perceptions because it will give them an idea on how people think and react to a certain commercial.

Every commercial brings along in it a message that is addressed to the public generally the consumers for the purpose of informing, persuading, entertaining, or influencing the buying behavior of the viewers (Yeshin, 2006). Moreover, the presentation of the message in a commercial affects the apprehension of the viewers towards the commercial message. Yeshin (2006) author of the book entitled Advertising, explains that a well presented and executed message in a commercial is one measurement in determining the effectiveness of a commercial. A commercial is effective when its viewers are able to grasp the intended message, meaning and purpose of the commercial. (Yeshin, 2006). Needless to say, a commercial that is misinterpreted and misunderstood by the audience failed to present the message in an appropriate and effective manner.

Wells, Burnett and Moriarty (2004) points out that advertising creates great impact on the most susceptible groups especially on the young teenagers. Children and adolescents are considered susceptible because they are not yet matured and they are still on the process of knowing and understanding who and what they really are (Peirce, 2007). Thus, it is likely to affect how adolescents view “self-image” and can influence their perception on the “appropriate” roles of men and women in the society (Peirce, 2007).

Sut Jhally “Image-Based Culture-Advertising and Popular Culture” explains that  advertising is a “communication system” “through” and “about objects”. By this, people specially the children who have little experiences are prone to misunderstanding the message in a specific commercial (Jhally, 2003). They tend to find a connection with what they have perceive in a commercial to the little knowledge or background they have regarding on the behavior shown in a commercial (Jhally, 2003).

Moreover, children and adolescents are unable to distinguish whether the behavior or a scene depicted in a tv commercial represents appropriate values in a society and culture. There is a greater chance that a “field” of behavior will be presumed irrationally as “realistic” by people specially the young ones who have little knowledge about it.

 “Children are influenced by media- they learn by observing, imitating and making behaviors of their own”, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics(2001) (as cited by Clark, 2011) TV commercials have increased its scope of influence to different age groups due to the new innovations and developments made in the world of media. Clark further explains that tv commercials have negative and positive influence to people, especially on children. These commercials are good because of the educational values it provides but these also serve as medium to which children are exposed to violence and other misleading, inappropriate values (Clark, 2011).

In contrast to the previous statements concerning the evident effects of commercials towards the viewers, a study by Mai & Schoeller (2009)  found that these television commercials “do not elicit much emotional response, understanding or memorability” to the viewers. The study conducted a survey to 120 selected adults whose memorability and emotional response to the four tv advertisements were measured (Mai & Schoeller, 2009). Mai & Schoeller (2009) also found that different television advertisements suggest and portray different emotions to the audience. This seen difference among tv advertisement is the reason for the researchers’ clarification that the findings of their study, which may not be applicable to some tv advertisements.

In addition, an undergraduate thesis by May Florence Corvera entitled “Exposure to dove evolution; its influence on the perception of beauty and satisfaction with one’s beauty among third year female UP High School students” proves that advertising has limited effects on the audience by using the Individual Differences Theory. This theory states that the people don’t believe all the information that is given to them by the media due to the fact that every individual has different experiences and personalities (Corvera, 2008). In relation to this theory is the implication that people perceive the things around them differently (Corvera, 2008). In the study of Corvera, she presumes that the advertisement’s influence on the perception of the students varies because the students have diverse personalities and experiences in their lives.

Moral obligation of advertising

Television commercials are said to have failed in relaying the positive values through the portrayal of roles associated with teenagers(Peterson, 1998). Some roles shown in commercials about teens are activities like eating, drinking which is unsatisfactory in creating a good image of young adults (Peterson, 1998).

The moral obligation of advertisers consists the social responsibility and ethics. Social responsibility means doing what the society considers as the best for the benefit of the people in general (Arens, 2006). Furthermore, the latter refers to doing what the advertiser and the advertiser’s colleagues consider as morally appropriate in a specific situation or culture. (Arens, 2006).

II. Perception towards advertising

According to a study by Banwari(1994), most people are not pleased with television commercials because of disagreeable  moral values tv commercials show to the audience. Television commercials are said to have harmful effects to the viewers because it promotes consumerism and values which corrupt the being of an individual. (Banwari ,1994) Despite these unpleasant perceptions towards advertisements, people recognize the useful information that tv commercials provide to the viewers (Banwari ,1994).

These harmful effects that are said to have been brought about by these television commercials do not necessarily affect the viewers’ perception and their attitude. This is dependent on the person’s knowledge and ability to critically evaluate and analyze the intended message of a commercial. This capability of a person to assess a certain commercial refers to as ‘media literacy’ as proposed by Renee Hobb which was cited in Laura Blackwell Clark’s article entitled “Influence on Children Media - History of Media for Children, General Considerations, Studies of Media Influence, Domains of Influence, Recommendations”.

The knowledge of students about the usage of media and technology doesn’t mean that they can critically analyze and evaluate the messages that they receive (Clark, 2011). The students have to acquire some skills that enable them to question the things they observe in the environment (Clark, 2011).  These skills are the “ability to critically analyze the media messages” and the “ability to use different kinds of communication technologies for self-expression and communication” (Clark, 2011). Therefore,   child or a student that is media literate is less to be affected by the messages from the media (Clark, 2011).The more capable the person is in understanding the commercial message, less are the chances that the message will be misunderstood and misinterpreted.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines where people are more conservative due to the religious influence, the Filipino audience tends to be more critical with television advertisements. Anything that goes beyond the norm is considered as unethical and inappropriate.

Another unpublished thesis by Enoc “Exposure to Jollibee and McDonalds’ advertisements and the perception of the fourth year students of Cebu City National Science High School towards Filipino values” states that to improve the outcome of the advertising campaigns in the Philippines; the advertisers need to put into consideration how Filipino values are introduced in a commercial. Enoc(1999) found that “Some of the commercials in the media are not directly selling consumer products or services; they are “selling” ideas and values"(Enoc, 1999).

The objective of the study is to determine the relationship between the exposure to Jollibee and McDonalds’ commercials on tv and the perception of the students. The findings of the study prove that there is no significant relationship between the mentioned variables. The commercials do not directly influence the respondents’ perception towards Filipino values. The respondents’ exposure to these commercials is not the primary reason why they perceive Filipino values. This study supports the previous studies mentioned which provide proofs to the notion that the people perceive advertisements differently (Individual Differences Theory).

           

The discussion above presented various studies which showed contradictory results regarding the influence of the environment which is the school on the values of the students.  The studies and sources gathered will help the researchers in having a better analysis on the study. The sources, especially the related research studies will give the researchers a general idea on whether the school has an influence on the perception of the 4^th year High school students towards the McDo ‘BG-GF’ tv commercial. Moreover, it will also aid in identifying other possible factors which affected the way the students apprehend the message of the commercial. These factors include the type of school which is comprised of the educational structure, curriculum, function, and moral teachings. Lastly, these various ideas of some authors and findings of the related research studies presented in this chapter will help in directing the researchers the way to possible answers to the main problem of the study.

Norren M. Mangmang

Naressa Belle A. Saripada

REFERENCES

Research Papers

Astill, B.R.,Feather, N.T. and Keeves J.P.  (2002). A multilevel analysis of the effects of parents, teachers and schools on student values. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Corvera, M. A. (2008). Exposure to the dove evolution; its influence on the perception of beauty and satisfaction with one’s beauty among third year female U.P. High School Students. (Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis). University of the Philippines Cebu College, Cebu City.

Enoc, D. (1999). Exposure to Jollibee and Mcdonald’s advertisements and the perception of the fourth year students of Cebu City National Science High School towards Filipino values. (Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis). University of the Philippines Cebu College, Cebu City.

UNO-R Institute of Research (1976). Student religious activities as learning experiences in catholic schools in Negros Occidental Philippines: objectives, structures and processes. (Unpublished research). Negros Occidental, Philippines.

Books

Print

Arens, W. F. (2006). Contemporary advertising (10^th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., pp. 71-73.

Hepner, H. W. (1893). Advertising- creative communication with consumers. United States of America: McGraw-Hill, Inc., pp.13-15.

Wells, W., Burnett, J., & Moriarty, S. (1995). Advertising principles and practice (3rd ed.). United States of America: Prentice-Hall, Inc., pp.57-58.

Would, W.T.S. (1993). People and education in the third world. Malaysia: Longman Scientific and technical, pp. 65-66.

 Electronic

Yeshin, T. (2006). Advertising. London: Thomson Learning, p. 229. Retrieved from
             http://books.google.com/books?id=sV_fJN4RtJcC&pg=RA2-PA229&lpg=RA2PA

229&dq=commercial+effectiveness+message+strategy&source=bl&ots=isWeihJLr_&sig=Sg7sA6g1n43EOu2MeJTRCOhhqjA&hl=fil&ei=WSouTq3iB8zPmAW47r1T&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=commercial%20effectiveness%20message%20strategy&f=false

journals

Electronic

Banwari, M. (1994). Public assessment of TV advertising: faint praise and harsh criticism. Journal of Advertising Research. Retrieved from http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&docId=A15352413&source=gale&srcprod=AONE&userGroupName=phdiliman&version=1.0

 Buijzen, M. and Valkenburg P. (2007). Parental mediation of undesired advertising
            effects.  Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Retrieved from
            http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/135180468.html

Mai, L. & Schoeller, G. (2009). Emotions, attitudes and memorability associated with TV commercials. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice Retrieved from http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&docId=A205907929&source=gale&srcprod=AONE&userGroupName=phdiliman&version=1.0

Peterson, R. (1998). The potrayal of children's activities in television commercials: a content analysis. Journal of Business Ethics. Retrieved from http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&docId=A53335941&source=gale&srcprod=AONE&userGroupName=phdiliman&version=1.0

II. Articles

Chen, G. (2007). Public School vs. Private School. Retrieved from 
            http://www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/5

Clark, L. B. (2011). Influence on Children Media - History of Media for Children, General
            Considerations, Studies of Media Influence, Domains of Influence,
            Recommendations. Retrieved from:
            http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2212/Media-Influence-on-
            Children.html#ixzz1UPqdPMou

Jhally, S. (2003). “ImageBased Culture: Advertising and Popular Culture”. Retrieved from  http://www.units.muohio.edu/technologyandhumanities/SutJhally.pdf

Pierce, K. (2007). The Effect of Magazine Advertising on Body Image Disorder Among Young Adolescent Girls. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/25325017/The-Effect-of-Magazine-Advertising-on-Body-Image-Disorder-Among-Young-Adolescent-Girls

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations. 2009. Secondary Education Information Base: Country Profile(Philippines). D. Calderbank and E. Aoyama(Eds.). Retrieved from http://www2.unescobkk.org/elib/publications/253_254/Philippines.pdf