Bio

Dr. Cynthia Morton completed Ph.D. studies in advertising at the University of Texas at Austin. She earned MBA and B.A. degrees at the University of Georgia, and has worked in the field of advertising as a researcher, educator, consultant, and industry professional for more than 20 years.

Her research focuses on issues associated with the theories of source effects and message persuasion, particularly in the contexts social issue advocacy, health communications, and cross-cultural audience influences. Her research has explored issues such as sexual health behaviors among mature patient audiences, communication strategies to prevent teen dating violence, and source effects of anti-terrorism messages in public service ads. She has presented her work a several academic conferences — both domestic and international — including the Association for Educators in Journalism & Mass Communications, the American Academy of Advertising, the American Marketing Association, and the International Communication Association. Her research has been published in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Journal of Promotion Management, the Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, and the Proceedings of the American Academy of Advertising. She has worked at the Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago, IL, and at the Carol Williams agency in Oakland, CA, prior to entering the academy and has consulted local and national organizations in strategic communication development and campaign planning. She is also maintains active membership in the American Academy of Advertising and the Association for Educator in Journalism & Mass Communication.

Dr. Morton teaches undergraduate and advertising courses in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida and is a visiting lecturer to the Masters of International Advertising program in the Warrington College of Business also at the University of Florida. She has taught Advertising Research,  Principles of Advertising, Advertising Strategy, International Advertising, Advertising Campaigns, and Advertising Ethics. She also is a faculty member in the College of Journalism’s graduate program where she has taught Advertising Planning, Creative Strategy and Research, Mass Communication Theory, and Mass Communication and Society, and Survey Research.

Education

Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
M.B.A., University of Georgia
B.A., University of Georgia

Publications

Morton, Cynthia R., Sebastian Galindo, Naa Dodoo, Cristobal Gonzalez, Linwan Wu, Lauren Headrick, Kendra Auguste, Suzanne Fundingsland, Maria Morera, Paul Monaghan, and Karla Shelnutt (2015). “Listening to Immokalee Moms: A Case Analysis on Applying the Stages of Change to Discover Health Promotion Directions.” Accepted for presentation at the Associaton of Marketing & Health Care Research conference, January 2016.

Morton, Cynthia R. and Naa Amponsah Dodoo (2015). “Beverage Consumption and the Path to Obesity.” Presented at the 2015 convention of the Association for Educators in Journalism & Mass Communications, ComSHER Division. San Francisco, CA, August 6-9.

Elias, Troy and Cynthia Morton (Accepted with revisions, 2015). “Ethnic Identity as a Predictor of Microaggressions towards Blacks, Whites, and Hispanic LGBs by Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics.” Journal of Homosexuality.

Park, Sun Young and Cynthia Morton (2015). “The Role of Regulatory Focus, Social Distance, and Involvement in Anti High-Ris Drinking Advertising: A Construal Level Theory,” Journal of Advertising, online February, 1-11.

Morton, Cynthia R. and Hyojin Kim (2014). “Use of the PHM Framework to Create Safe Sex Ads Targeted to Women 50 and Older,” Health Marketing Quarterly, 31(1).

Morton, Cynthia R. (2013). “Anti-Dating Violence Campaign Effectiveness to African American Teenage Males.” Presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication convention, Washington, DC (August 8 -11).

Morton, Cynthia R., Hyojin Kim, and Debbie Treise (2011). “Sex After 50: A Qualitative Study on Mature Women’s Sexual Health Attitudes and Beliefs,” Journal of Consumer Affairs, 45(3): 372-390.

Morton, Cynthia, Richard Beltramini, Marieke de Mooij, Roxanne Hovland, Kevin Keenan, Jon Morris, and Attilio Redivio (2010). “Perspectives on Global Marketing Communications in a Changing Media Landscape.” International Conference Proceedings of the American Academy of Advertising. 2010 European Conference. Milan, Italy. June 4-6.

Morton Cynthia R. and Jorge Villegas (2005). Chapter 14: “Political Communication in the Age of 9-11” in Current Issues in Political Marketing. Walter W. Wymer, Jr. and Jennifer Less-Marshment (Eds.), pp. 269 – 284. New York: Routledge.

Morton, Cynthia R. and Jorge Villegas (2005). “Political Issue Promotion in the Age of 9-11.” Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing. Special Issue on Political Communication. 14(1/2), 269-284.

Morton, Cynthia R. and Meredith Friedman (2001). “I saw it in the movies: Exploring the Link between Product Placement Beliefs and Reported Usage Behavior.” Journal of Current Issues in Research and Advertising. 24(2): 33-40.

Richards, Jef I., Ellen A. Wartella, Cynthia Morton, and Lisa Thompson (1998), The Growing Commercialization of Schools: Issues and Practices.” Special Issue on Children and Television. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 557(May): 148-163.

Research

Dr. Morton’s research interests surround issues pertaining to social marketing, particularly as it relates to corporations’ involvement in social issue promotion, public policy, and issue advocacy. These issues have included alcohol moderation, health communication, terrorism awareness, and other societal concerns related to public behavior.

 

Research Keywords

Social issue marketing, issue advocacy advertising, issue-related advertising, cause-related communications, corporate advocacy, issue sponsorship, product placement, source credibility

Research Areas

• Health and Science Communication
• Health and Science Communication
• International and Cross-Cultural Communication
• Nonprofits, Social Marketing, and Philanthropy
• Strategic Communication

Courses

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