Spirituality in Advertising: A New Theoretical Approach

Current directions in advertising practice point to the use of more spiritual themes in advertising. Yet the concept of spirituality has not received enough attention in advertising research. We argue that spirituality is a crucial dimension in the human experience with theoretical implications for the field of advertising. In this paper, we first define and translate spirituality based on holistic and eclectic approaches so it is suitable for research in advertising. We propose a new theoretical framework-The Spirituality in Advertising Framework (SAF), which delineates 16 core ideas that are characteristics of spiritual people and spiritual messages-for use as a platform for future research of spirituality and advertising. Second, we offer a qualitative analysis of television ads that illustrates how the SAF can be used to interpret spirituality in advertising messages. Finally, we discuss the role of spirituality in advertising research while suggesting an agenda for future exploration.