Covid-19 and Advertising: The Case for a Paradigm Shift

Abstract While the global coronavirus pandemic might not have caused many of the changes we are witnessing in the field of advertising, it has definitely accelerated the rate of change in many areas of our society and field. In this article, we begin by outlining some of the significant changes that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated. Using a systems approach to advertising research, we examine the role of environmental changes, such as the current pandemic, in influencing the trajectory of advertising scholarship. Then, we argue that when systems, such as our economic or financial one, experience shocks of such epic proportions, they present researchers in an applied field like advertising an opportunity to problematize and question the fundamental aspects or foundations of the field itself. We conclude by making a case for a paradigm shift in advertising research and identify numerous opportunities for new lines of inquiry in this new paradigm.