Cynthia R. Morton Padovano, Ph.D.
Professor - Department of Advertising
Office: 2082 Weimer
Phone: 352-392-8841
Email: cmorton@jou.ufl.edu
Cynthia R. Morton Padovano, Ph.D.
Professor - Department of Advertising
Dr. Cynthia Morton is a full professor at the University of Florida. She 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 over 30 years.
She has been a member in the American Academy of Advertising since 1997 and has served the Association in several leadership roles, including Treasurer of the Executive Committee, Associate Editor of JCIRA, and currently as a member of the Publications Committee. She also served as an appointed member of AAAs Diversity, Equity & Inclusion task force.
Her research focuses on issues associated with the theories of cognitive processing, communication effects, and message persuasion, particularly in the contexts social issue advocacy, health communications, and cross-cultural audience influences. She has presented her work at several academic conferences, including the Association for Educators in Journalism & Mass Communications, the American Academy of Advertising, the American Marketing Association, the International Communication Association, the Association for Marketing & Healthcare Research, and the Southern Nursing Research Society. Her research has been published in Health Marketing Quarterly, 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, International Journal of Advertising, and the Proceedings of the American Academy of Advertising.
Professor Morton teaches undergraduate and advertising courses in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida and has been a visiting lecturer to the UF’s Master of International Advertising program in the Warrington College of Business. She has taught Advertising Research, Principles of Advertising, Advertising Strategy, International Advertising, Advertising Campaigns, and Ethics in Mass Communication. She also teaches graduate courses in Advertising Planning, Creative Strategy & Research, Mass Communication Theory, Mass Communication and Society, Psychology of Advertising, and Survey Research.
She has industry experience as an account manager at the Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago, IL, and at the Carol Williams agency in Oakland, CA, prior to entering the academy. She also has consulted government and non-governmental organizations (local and national) in strategic communication development and campaign planning.
Areas of Expertise
Advertising Campaign, Research and Strategy, Communication Strategy, Creative Strategy, Strategic Communication
Education
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin
M.B.A., University of Georgia
B.A., University of Georgia
News
- UFCJC Advertising Faculty, Doctoral Students and Alumni Recognized at 2024 AAA Annual Conference (March 19, 2024)
- COVID Communications: Culture, Compliance, and Brands (April 17, 2023)
- Study: A Group’s Adaptation to a Threat is Pertinent to Its Survival During a Public Health Crisis (January 4, 2023)
- Cynthia Morton Comments on the Increase in Advertising Appeals to Fathers (June 21, 2022)
- Cynthia Morton Explores Using Family Members to Help Educate Elderly in Underrepresented Communities (March 31, 2022)
- All News About Cynthia Morton
Publications
Select Publications
Gaillard, T., Vaccaro, J., Morton, C., & Webb, F. (2024). An asset-based approach to increase engagement of older African Americans in health research. Innovation in Aging, 8(Supplement 1), 274-275.
Gaillard, T., Shambley-Ebron, D. Z., Vacarro, J. A., Neff, D., Morton, C., Swagger, P., Vieira, E., & Webb, F. (2024). Intergenerational Influence of African Americans, Caribbean and Hispanic/Latino Adults Regarding Decision to Participate in Health-Related Research. Research on Aging(Online First), digital. DOI: 10.1177/01640275241229411
Gaillard, T. R., Shambley-Ebron, D., Vaccaro, J. A., Swagger, P., Neff, D. F., Morton, C., & Webb, F. (2023). Family Matters -- The Need for a Holistic Approach toward Recruitment and Retention of Culturally Diverse Adults. Diabetes, 72(Supplement 1), 561-P.
Morton, C., Dodoo, N., Villegas, J., Mueller, S., & Chang, H. (2022). Advertising in the times of COVID: A Tight-Loose Analysis of Pandemic-Related TV Commercials. Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising. DOI: 10.1080/10641734.2022.2149640
Mueller, S., Morton, C., Johnson, B. K., Bhakti, B., & Morris, J. (2022). Like the Dad in the Ad: Testing a conceptual model for new fathers' responses to dadvertisements. International Journal of Advertising(June 2022), 1-30. DOI: 10.1080/02650487.2022.2091377