ARTICLE REVIEW/CRITIQUE
Dra. Muela Molina, Clara (2012). La representación de la ficción en la cuña publicitaria. Personajes, contextos y otros elementos narrativos. Área Abierta, 31.

I. Statement of the Problem

a. Rationale for the Study

Previous research has demonstrated that radio advertising is essentially realistic and informative, centered on features, properties and benefits of the advertised product and/or service. This was the starting point for the undertaken investigation of why fiction, as a narrative form, is so underexplored in this specific medium.

b. Relevance to Mass Communication

The article is relevant to Mass Communication, particularly to Advertising, since it contests the status quo of radio spots production, pinpointing a wide range of missed creative possibilities when mostly concepting in a realistic way.

c. Research Questions/Hypothesis

Dra. Molina addresses the hypothesis that radio spots would be more effective if they used a bigger amount of fiction as a narrative form, in order to generate deeper emotional attachment and, consequently, increase the lifespan of a message. II. Literature Review
First, the author provides a brief review of literature that analyses the effectiveness of radio spots through qualitative elements, such as humor, remembrance and voice. Then, she presents a series of studies that contextualizes and supports the use of fiction as a narrative resource, but stressing that none of them, except a recent one, had approached the topic in radio medium.

III. Methods

The methodology used was content analysis and the elected format was the spot. The sample was obtained from Spanish adverts enrolled throughout the six advertising festivals across San Sebastián, in radio category, from issues XII to XVII, comprising the years of 1997 to 2002. From the total of radio spots achieved, only spots that presented fantastic characters and elements, according to audiovisual narratives – characters and context – and radiophonic language variables – music and sound effects – were selected (9%). Finally, registering