WSU Marketing’s Muehling Honored for Advertising Research

PULLMAN, Wash.—Darrel Muehling, professor and chair of the Department of Marketing at Washington State University, is set to receive the “Outstanding Contribution to Advertising Research” lifetime achievement award from the American Academy of Advertising. The award will be presented during the AAA meeting in Reno, Nev. to be held March 30-April 2.

In a letter to College of Business Dean Eric Spangenberg, the AAA notes, “Darrel has made major contributions to advertising research over his career including several best paper awards at leading journals including the Journal of Advertising. Darrel is past president of AAA and has been cited as one of the most frequent contributors to the top journals of our field.”

Only 14 people have received this award since the AAA was founded in 1958 to strengthen advertising research and education.

“Dr. Muehling is being recognized as one of a very few researchers to have made such a significant impact in his area, and he isn’t done yet!,” said Spangenberg, also a marketing professor. “We are proud to have him as a member of our faculty and our leadership team.”

Muehling’s interest in advertising started during his undergraduate education at the University of Nebraska, where he earned his two bachelors degrees, as well as masters and doctorate degree, all in business and education fields.

“I have always been interested in why or how advertising works,” Muehling said. He teaches a principles of marketing class to business college juniors and a promotion management course to senior.

His current areas of research are diverse. One examines the effects of nostalgic ads on consumers, determining if ads should have a personal or historic nostalgia theme, and if nostalgia is more appropriate for one ad over another.

Another area addresses message framing in the context of comparative advertising. “Think about positively and negatively framed advertising messages. Is an advertising message more persuasive when you say positive things about your own brand, or when you reference negative things about a competitor?,” Muehling said.

A third area of his research considers the effect of mental imagery in the context of radio advertising; how words and sound effects influence listeners and how distractions compete for listeners’ attention.

Muehling joined the WSU marketing faculty in 1985, became an associate professor with tenure in 1991, and full professor in 1997, the same year he assumed leadership of the department. He has developed courses for distance degree students, was a visiting professor at Thammasat University and Prince of Songkla University in Thailand and has served in numerous university, college and industry committees.

More information about Muehling’s research is available online at www.cbe.wsu.edu/~darrelm/.