Exploring the Audience’s Role: A Decoding Model for the 21st Century

Alexandra J. Kenyon, Anthony Parsons and Emma H. Wood

This article uses empirical research, with young (aged 16–21) advertising audiences, to build upon existing communication theory in a number of ways.

Exploring the Audience's Role: A Decoding Model for the 21st Century

Alexandra J. Kenyon, Emma H. Wood and Anthony ParsonsLeeds Metropolitan University

INTRODUCTION

Decoding advertisements has been studied in many ways, be it social uses of advertising (Mitchell, Macklin, and Paxman, 2007), cultural interpretation (Bulmer and Buchanan-Oliver, 2006; McFall, 2004; Scott, 1994), deep readings by academics (Stevens, Maclaran, and Brown, 2003), or life experiences (Elliot and Ritson, 1995; Mick and Buhl, 1992; Parker, 1998). Their findings have concluded that reading advertisements is subjective. To advance this understanding, further empirical research is required to consider whether...

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