Missing Ingredients in Metaphor Advertising: The Right Formula of Metaphor Type,Product Type,and Need for Cognition

Metaphors appear frequently in contemporary advertising. The purpose of this study is to distinguish between two types of metaphor (explicit versus implicit) and to further examine potential influences associated with product type and consumer differences in need for cognition (NFC). Experimental results from two studies indicate that, regardless of metaphor type, ads with metaphors are more effective than nonmetaphor ads. An implicit metaphor is more effective than an explicit metaphor in hedonic product advertising. In contrast, an explicit metaphor is more effective than an implicit metaphor in utilitarian product promotion. These results hold only for individuals with high NFC, not for those with low NFC. Hence, in practice, marketers stand to gain not only by matching the metaphor type with their advertised products or brands but also by appropriately framing the products as hedonic or utilitarian.     

Metaphor as Visual Thinking in Advertising and Its Effects: Focus on Brand Familiarity and Product Involvement

One of advertisers' favorite communication techniques is the visual metaphor. In fact, metaphor usage perennially increases in ad images. This study, which looks at consumers with varying levels of brand familiarity and product involvement, investigates how their attitudes and purchase intentions of are influenced by the persuasive effects of visual metaphors in various advertising conditions. The findings reveal that consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions are enhanced more by visual metaphor-based ads than nonmetaphor-based ads when the advertised product is in a low-involvement product category. Nonmetaphorical ads are found to have a more positive influence with high-involvement products than do metaphorical ads. The results show a significant three-way interaction effect. When the advertised product is in a low-involvement product category, visual metaphors lead to favorable brand evaluations and higher purchase intentions in the ads for a low-familiarity brand. However, nonmetaphors are more persuasive than visual metaphors only for the low familiarity brand in a high-involvement product category. Theoretical and practical implications are addressed in the discussion.     

Children's Age,Intelligence and Sex as Variables Mediating Reactions to TV Commercials: Repetition and Content Complexity Implications for Advertisers

To learn if differences in age, intelligence, and sex account for differences in children's recall of TV commercials and in the degree of insistence with which they request that the advertised product be purchased, 54 gifted, 71 normal and 53 educable mentally retarded children of both sexes (7–13 years) were questioned after viewing commercials for breakfast cereals. Analyses of variance reveal that both age and intelligence were significantly related to recall while only intelligence was significantly related to degree of insistence. Sex differences were not significant for either recall or degree of insistence nor were any of the possible 2 way and 3 way interaction terms. The nature of the joint covariance between the outcomes (recall and degree of insistence) and the children's characteristics (age, sex, and intelligence) was explored via canonical analysis, and implications for advertisers in terms of repetition and message complexity are discussed.     

TV advertising of OTC medicines and its effects on child viewers

The influence of over-the-counter (OTC) medicine commercials on children's choices concerning use of OTC medicines was investigated in two experiments. In the first, 115 third and fourth graders were exposed to commercials for six different OTC medicines or commercials for other products. They were then asked to recommend either a medicine or nonmedicine remedy for a child and an adult with various illnesses and/or problems. The OTC medicine commercials appeared to influence children's recommendations only with respect to use of sleeping pills. In the second experiment 234 third and fourth graders were exposed to either fever and cold medicine commercials, all of which were directed toward the child viewer, or nondrug commercials. Only the fever medicine commercials appeared to influence the children. It was concluded that OTC medicine commercials do not, in general, influence children's choices concerning use of those medicines. Possible exceptions to this general case are noted.     

The Effect of Media Involvement on Print Advertising Effectiveness

Abstract

There is less than full agreement in the advertising research community over the relationship between involvement and advertising effectiveness. The purpose of this research is to extend that investigation into print. In a pre-post between-subjects design, 926 adults were exposed to test advertisements “tipped” (i.e., inserted) into a publication that they read regularly. Readers' attitudes and purchase intentions for the advertised products were collected before and after exposure to the ads. The results indicated that higher involvement with a publication leads to more favorable perceptions of embedded ads, and higher levels of advertising persuasion, while not impacting recall. Analyses of specialized effects indicated that, for the most part, main-effects results were robust across two types of advertisements, two print publication types, and two classes of products studied. The research has implications for how publishers set, and media planners evaluate, advertising rates, which are calculated predominantly according to the size of a publication's reader base. Based on our results, they should consider involvement when making these decisions.     

The Use of Metaphor in the Exploration of the Brand Concept

The use of metaphor in research and in marketing is discussed. A typology is presented for the structure of the use of metaphor in understanding the brand concept. Three underpinning or ‘root’ metaphors are identified together with fourteen associated branch or submetaphors. The three root metaphors are: brand as diferentiating mark, brand as person and brand as asset. A number of issues surrounding the use of metaphor in the literature on branding are identified. These include the mixing of metaphors and attempts to treat metaphors as if they are terms or constructs capable of separate definition, instead of devices by which we can understand more about the brand concept. Certain metaphors, such as brand loyalty, have become terms and have then taken on a separate meaning from the original entity they were meant to illuminate. An emergent root metaphor, brand as role, is identified as having potential to develop a broader understanding of the brand concept.

A life stage model is derived to explain how the role and use of individual metaphors evolves or changes over their life. Metaphors may pass through as many as four life stages: creation, when the metaphor is first used; a second stage in which the metaphor may become dormant; a life stage when the metaphor is at its most active; and a death stage when the metaphor becomes a term.     

Special Section Introduction: Artificial Intelligence and Advertising

The effect of visual metaphor in advertising is claimed to follow a curvilinear pattern: visual metaphors that constitute a moderate challenge are said to have a bigger impact on appreciation than simpler or more complex metaphors. Until now, empirical evidence has been scarce. This study verifies whether the tipping point can indeed be identified. In an experiment, 485 participants judged 16 different metaphors (in advertisements for 16 different product categories) varying in conceptual complexity. Mediation analyses showed that metaphors of moderate complexity, although comprehended less well than simpler metaphors, are appreciated more than simpler and more complex metaphors.     

Making sense of metaphor: The impact of target-group-specific headlines in direct mail

Metaphors are used extensively to cut through the increasing volume of noise in contemporary, hyper-competitive markets. Whilst there is a growing body of literature on the impact of metaphor in marketing communications, much of it concerns style, whilst relatively little is understood about the relationship between creative execution and target audience response. In an exploratory study designed to measure the effectiveness of metaphor in direct mail, we introduce and investigate the concept of target-group-specificity. We find that carefully crafted headlines that contain target-group-specific (TGS) metaphors – in other words, both content and style created specifically for a particular audience – outperform less target-specific metaphors and their literal alternatives. Positive results are found in relation to attention, attitude and behavioural intention. The findings offer evidence that TGS metaphors are more persuasive than the alternative and have strong advertising effects.     

Rivers,William L., Wallace Thompson,and Michael J. Nyhan. The Aspen Handbook on the Media, 1977–1979 edition. New York: Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, 1977. 438 pp

Abstract

Time-compressed television advertisements have produced superior recall in college students. The current study indicates that young adults do recall more from time-compressed advertisements, but that elderly adults recall less and middle-aged adults are somewhere in between. These results hold for normal television advertisements as well.     

The Aad-Ab-PI relationship in children: The impact of brand familiarity and measurement timing

Given the explosion of research in the past decade that has examined the Aad-Ab-PI relationship using adult subjects, one would expect to see an almost parallel stream of research involving children. However, as is evident in Brown and Stayman's (1992) meta-analysis of the literature, no studies investigating this area have used children as the sample. This study provides an initial exploration into the Aad-Ab-PI relationship in children with specific focus given to the impact of brand familiarity and measurement timing while controlling for prior brand attitudes. Forty-three third graders and sixty-eight sixth graders participated in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment that manipulated brand familiarity (familiar vs. unfamiliar) and measurement timing (immediate vs. delayed). Similar to the results using adult subjects, the children's Aad measures significantly affected Ab for both familiar and unfamiliar brands, even after controlling for prior brand attitude. However, contrary to adult responses, the children's Aad had a significant, albeit modest, impact on their PI responses. Based on these results, the paper offers implications for marketers and public policy makers and questions for future research. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Right metaphor,right place: choosing a visual metaphor based on product type and consumer differences

This research examines the effectiveness of different metaphor types (juxtaposition vs. replacement vs. fusion) while taking into account the potential impacts of product type, consumer gender differences, and consumer cognitive capacity. The experimental results indicate that ads with metaphors are more effective than those without, regardless of the type of metaphor being used. For females, a replacement metaphor is more effective in ads for ‘search products’, while a juxtaposition metaphor is more effective in ads for ‘experience products’. Juxtaposition metaphors are more effective for males, regardless of product type. When the focus is narrowed to the cognitive capacity of female participants, metaphor type and product type are found to have an interactive effect on females with high cognitive capacity. Fusion metaphors have the advantage when promoting a search product to high cognitive capacity females. The results suggest that practitioners can more effectively promote their products by choosing the right type of metaphor.     

Impact of Advertising Model's Body Size on Perceived Product Quality: Category-Based Induction Approach

Abstract

Thin female models are aggressively employed in advertisements (Slater, Tiggemann, Hawkins, & Werchon, 2012; Wasylkiw, Emms, Meuse, & Poirier, 2009). Previous studies showed that physically attractive advertising are effective because image-transfer occurs between the models and advertised products (e.g., Kamins & Gupta, 1994). Considering that the current standard for physical attractiveness is thinness for women (Gurung & Chrouser, 2007), the effect of thin female spokespersons can be attributed to the image-transfer. To explain the mechanism of image-transfer, the current study employed category-based induction as a theoretical foundation. The results confirmed that consumers evaluated advertised products based on category-based induction. Specifically, consumers classified a thin female model into positive categorization, which was used to evaluate advertised products. The study also investigated the moderating role of various psychographic factors. The results showed that adherence to traditional gender roles and perfectionism interacted with the model's body size, influencing on how consumers evaluated the quality of advertised products.     

A New Viewpoint on Nudes in Advertising and Brand Recall

Despite research findings' that scantily-clad or even nude models in advertisements do not improve brand recall of the products advertised, marketers continue to employ nudity in their advertising. In recent years males as well as females have been used as models. Since current research reflects only the effectiveness of female nudity for brand recall among male audiences, this study was conducted to see what happens when those roles are reversed. Findings did not replicate those of previous studies which indicated a reverse correlation between increased nudity and brand recall. Both male and female audiences demonstrated increased brand recall as the model's nudity was increased.     

Harmonization of product information for child-care products

Abstract

This paper gives an overview of the prenormative research that has been conducted to achieve harmonization of product information for child-care products. This research supports the work of a project group of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN/TC 252/WG 6/PG 5). The project group is preparing a chapter on product information requirements for a CEN report on the safety of children's products. In the first study, the product information currently provided with child-care products was studied. In the second study, the following was drawn up: two lists of requirements, one for the legibility and one for the understandability of product information, a warning grammar, and a basic set of explicit warnings against the most frequent and severe hazards. In the third study, the effectiveness of explicit warnings for child-care products was investigated. The results of this study indicate that people perceive products with explicit warnings as more hazardous and the possible injuries in case of an accident as more severe. In a fourth study, warning symbols were designed for a number of warnings of the basic set. Future research will focus on testing the combination of warnings and symbols for child-care products for com-prehensibility in a number of European countries.     

Subliminal Embeds in Print Advertising: A Challenge to Advertisng Ethics

A sample of adult men and women was exposed to both comparison and individual brand advertisements under controlled conditions. Recall measurements were made for the brands being advertised on an immediate basis and twenty-four hours after exposure to the advertisements. Since different product classifications were promoted in the study, several implications are possible concerning the recall effectiveness of each type of advertisement and product brand.     

Author/Abstract Index

Abstract

This study assesses consumer perceptions of advertising messages for two proenvironmental products by examining the effectiveness of environmental versus personal benefit appeals and .99 versus .00 price endings. The authors borrow from Prospect Theory and Mental Accounting Theory to explain consumers' perceptions of psychological pricing and product attributes. In addition, the moderating role of environmental skepticism is assessed as it relates to the effectiveness of environmentally friendly advertisements. Results indicate that consumers feel that some products advertised with environmental appeals are more costly, but are not perceived as lower quality as compared with products advertised with personal benefits. Findings also indicate a price ending × appeal interaction for two different products, but the effects vary between the products. Finally, environmental skepticism is found to moderate perceptions of the message appeal. Implications are provided.     

Misperceptions of Grocery Advertising

A survey of food shoppers showed that consumers underestimate the number of advertised grocery store items reduced in price and the average amount these products are marked down. Newspaper advertisements appear to be relied upon more by consumers who believe that advertised brands are of better quality than those not advertised.     

The sweet smell of advertising: the essence of matching scents with other ad cues

New technologies enable practitioners to communicate scents in advertisements on various media. The current research examines the importance of matching scent cues to the advertised product, and the joint effect of scent and other cues such as colour on consumer responses to advertising. A 4 × 2 experimental design was conducted, where participants (N = 603) were presented with scented colour print advertisements. Three hierarchical responses were measured: emotional response, attitude, and purchase intention. Findings reveal that higher congruence between scent and the advertised product heightens positive consumer response. Furthermore, this research stresses the significant joint effect of scent and colour cues, and supports the incongruence approach, suggesting that combining scents that are poorly congruent with other sensory cues enhance consumer response. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Skepticism toward Health Claims: An Empirical Investigation of Singaporean Consumers

The purpose of this study is to test the persuasive effects of visual metaphors in advertising. Advertisements containing visual metaphors deliver persuasive arguments in visual modality and metaphorical style of rhetoric, both of which may increase the persuasiveness of messages. The study has three message conditions that are advertisements containing (a) non‐metaphorical (literal) visual image with verbal argument; (b) metaphorical visual image with verbal argument; and (c) metaphorical image without accompanying verbal argument. Cognitive elaboration, source credibility, ad attitude, brand attitude, product belief, and purchase intention are considered as outcomes. The study results suggest that visual metaphors may be more persuasive due to both visual argumentation and metaphorical rhetoric. The theoretical explanations and managerial implications of the findings of this study are further discussed.     

Cultural values in international advertising: An examination of familial norms and roles in Mexico

Past research suggests that the cultural value orientation, individualism-collectivism, should be considered when developing international advertising campaigns. The present study examines how (in)consistencies in collectivist values (e.g., familial norms and roles) may affect attitudes and behaviors toward advertised products within a collectivist culture, Mexico. The findings suggest advertisements that depict consistencies in local cultural norms and roles are viewed more favorably and purchase intention is higher than for advertisements that depict inconsistencies. The data provide no support for the moderating role of individual-level differences in value orientation (i.e., allocentric versus idiocentric tendencies) on persuasion measures. Interestingly, product category advertised appears to be the best moderator of the relative strength of role and norm effects on ad attitudes and purchase intention. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.