After attending the first day of class, I realized that I could possibly use Second Life to create an in-game ad and androgynous endorser for my tentative Masters Thesis. The idea behind this research project is the Match-Up Hypothesis theory, which simply states that products and endorsers should "match up" on certain aspects. My particular research focuses on a product-endorser match on the basis of gender. More specifically, I am proposing an experiment that matches a product that is generally considered to be both masculine and feminine (eg. a stereo) with an androgynous-looking endorser. In order to test this idea, participants will view one of 4 ads: product with a female endorser, product with a male endorser, product with an androgynous endorser, or the product alone. Participants' responses will be compared across all of the conditions.
In addition to this research idea, I have a few others. I believe there are opportunities to examine the influence of SL political groups on the current U.S. primaries and/or the general election. There's also an opportunity to do research exploring the effects of interactive advertising. For example, Evian bottled water sells their products in SL. Do people's interactions with the product in SL create more positive feelings toward the brand? What about more indirect venues for advertising, such as Toyota Scion's SL world? Do people associate Scionworld with the real-life product, and do their positive feelings toward the Second Life world transfer to positive feelings toward the car company?
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