Urgent topics for advertising research: addressing critical gaps in the literature

Abstract This article examined advertising research topics categorized by connections and tensions between central actors in the advertising ecosystem (advertising industry and advertisers) and other key actors. From a bibliometric analysis of original research articles published in the top three advertising journals during the past 20 years, topical areas were identified where research has been lacking. These topics included: (1) issues at the connection between advertising industry/advertisers and non-government regulatory/watchdog organizations; (2) issues at the connection between advertising industry/advertisers and the government; and (3) macro-environment issues, especially social and technology environment factors. For each of these areas, urgent topics for future advertising research and example research questions were proposed.