Cynthia R. Morton Padovano, Ph.D.
Associate Professor - Department of Advertising
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
Select Publications
Morton, Cynthia R., Sabrina Habib, and Jon Morris (2019). The Effects of Nostalgia Cues in sexual health advertising. Health Marketing Quarterly, 37:3.
Morton, Cynthia R. and Summer Shelton (2019). The Framing of Adoption: A Content Analysis of Print Newspapers 2014-2016. Journal of Public Interest Communications. volume 3.
Morton, Cynthia R. and Troy Elias (2018). Next steps in Campaign Strategies to Reduce Teen Dating Violence: Examining Media Campaigns through the Lens of “Boy Culture.” Cogent Social Sciences, 4(1), 1-12.
Morton, Cynthia, Sebastian Galindo, Naa Amposah Dodoo, Linwan Wu, Lauren Headrick, Suzanne Fundingsland, Kendra Auguste, Cristobal Gonzalez, Maria Morera, Paul Monaghan, and Karla Shelnutt, (2017). Listening to Immokalee Moms: A Case Analysis on Applying the Stages of Change to Discover Health Promotion Directions. Issues in Healthcare and Pharmacology for Vulnerable Populations, 11(2).
Song, Doori and Cynthia Morton (2016). Unique or the same: The interplay of regulatory focus and informational cues in advertising. Psychology & Marketing,33(11): 917-933 (November).
Elias, Troy, Alyssa Jaisle, and Cynthia Morton-Padovano (2016). Ethnic Identity as a Predictor of Microaggressions towards Blacks, Whites, and Hispanic LGBs by Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics. Journal of Homosexuality, April: 1-31.
Morton, Cynthia R.and Hyojin Kim (2015). Use of the PHM Framework to Create Safe Sex Ads Targeted to Women 50 and Older. Health Marketing Quarterly, 32(2); 148-164.
Park, Sun Young and Cynthia R. Morton (2015). The Role of Regulatory Focus, Social Distance, and Involvement in Anti-High-Risk Drinking Ad Framing. Journal of Advertising, 44(4): 338-348.
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
Syllabi from the current and three previous semesters: