Authors
An author can be a person but can also be an organization, or company. These are called group or corporate authors. Most advertisements will have a corporate author such as an advertising agency or, more commonly, the name of the company that owns the product being advertised.
Titles
Some advertisements may not have an identified title. If you are citing something with no identified title, write a description of the product/brand being advertised and place it in square brackets (e.g. [Advertisement for McDonald's coffee]. Put this description in brackets where you would normally put the title.
Name of Company That Owns the Product. (Year, Month Day of issue which contains advertisement if given). Name of advertisement [Advertisement]. Name of Journal, Magazine or Newspaper, Volume Number(Issue Number if given), page number advertisement is found on.
| Example |
L'Oréal. (2013, February 1). Introducing rose gold blonde [Advertisement]. Vogue 203(2), 167. |
| In-Text Paraphrase | (L'Oréal, 2013) |
| In-Text Quote |
(L'Oréal, 2013, p. 167) |
Name of Company That Owns the Product. (Year, Month Day of issue which contains advertisement if given). [Advertisement for Name of Product being advertised]. Name of Journal, Magazine or Newspaper, Volume Number(Issue Number if given), page number advertisement is found on.
| Example |
BMW. (2005, May 1). [Advertisement for BMW 750Li]. Vogue 195(5), 4-5. |
| In-Text Paraphrase | (BMW, 2005) |
| In-Text Quote |
(BMW, 2005, p. 4) |
Name of Company That Owns the Product. (Year, Month Day if given). Name of advertisement [Advertisement]. Website. URL
Note: Some online advertisements (e.g. Google Ads, targeted ads on social media) may not appear permanently on the page on which they were found. Before citing an online advertisement, ensure that you have a stable, permanent URL that will allow your reader to view the ad.
| Example |
Nike. (2008). Cliffs of Dover [Advertisement]. AdForum. https://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/6710117/cliffs-of-dover/nike |
| In-Text Paraphrase | (Nike, 2008) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Nike, 2008) Note: Since this advertisement does not include page numbers, paragraph numbers, section headings or time stamps, this information is omitted from the in-text citation. |
Name of Company That Owns the Product. (Year). Name of advertisement [Television commercial]. City of Broadcast, Province: Name of Network.
| Example |
Peloton. (2019). The gift that gives back [Television commmercial]. Toronto, ON: CityTV. |
| In-Text Paraphrase | (Peloton, 2019) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Peloton, 2019, 00:09) Note: Because the commercial does not have page numbers, paragraphs or subject headings, instead provide a time stamp for the beginning of the quotation. |
Name of Company That Owns the Product. (Year, Month Day if given). Name of advertisement [Television commercial]. Website. URL
| Example |
Starbucks Coffee. (2019, January 11). #MorningYes [Television commmercial]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2Ea1-5jj48 |
| In-Text Paraphrase | (Starbucks, 2019) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Starbucks, 2019, 00:13) Note: Because the commercial does not have page numbers, paragraphs or subject headings, instead provide a time stamp for the beginning of the quotation. |