Schema strength,processing opportunity,and the rewarding nature of incongruity resolution in advertising

Extant literature calls for more research to identify the boundary conditions as well as the process underlying the effects of ad messages that violate specific brand beliefs. This paper examines different levels of ad–brand incongruity, considering brand schema strength and processing opportunity as factors that influence the perception and the resolution of incongruity. Moreover, it provides empirical evidence for the process mediating attitudinal responses to ad–brand incongruity. Experiment 1 shows superiority for moderately incongruent ads over congruent and extremely incongruent ads which is eliminated when participants have a weak, as opposed to a strong, brand schema. Experiment 2 replicates the nonmonotonic pattern for strong, real brands but further shows that low processing opportunity favors congruent ads. Mediation analysis reveals that the psychological satisfaction experienced during the ad interpretation process has an asymmetric mediating effect, such that moderate levels of ad–brand incongruity generate highest levels of satisfaction which then leads to more positive responses.     

Consumers' green involvement and the persuasive effects of emotional versus functional ads

This study compares the effects of four types of ads: a functional green ad promoting the environmental advantages of a product, an emotional green ad using a visual representation of pleasant natural scenery, a mixed type green ad using functional and emotional strategies, and a control group. Findings of an experimental study using a representative sample of U.S. consumers suggest that both the emotional and the mixed-type ads significantly affect brand attitude, mediated by attitude toward the ad. These effects do not depend on consumers' green involvement. Functional ads, in contrast, only impact brand attitudes when involvement, measured as green purchase behavior or green product attitudes, is high.     

Actual Dove versus ideal L’Oréal: Impact of self-related brand image on advertising persuasiveness

This study examines how self-related brand images impact the effectiveness of advertising messages framed by different construal levels. In Study 1 (cosmetics/beauty brands: Dove and L’Oréal), data from undergraduate students demonstrated that for an actual image brand (Dove), participants responded positively toward the ad framed with low-level construal terms, whereas they did not react differently to either the high- or low-level construal ads of an ideal brand (L’Oréal). Study 2 that replicated Study 1 to confirm the findings with a different product category (apparel: Gap vs. Gucci) among the general population sample also found consistent findings with Study 1.     

The games people play: How the entertainment value of online ads helps or harms persuasion

This research examines consumer reactions to online ads varying in levels of entertainment value. Results show that more favorable brand attitudes and more positive purchase intentions are formed when consumers are exposed to an ad that generates a high (game ad), rather than a low (banner ad) level of entertainment value. However, such effects are qualified by consumers' shopping goals. When consumers have access to their goals to seek specific product information, affect transfer is impaired, such that the advantage of entertaining ads dissipates. This research also documents moderating roles of individual differences in need for cognitive closure and Internet usage versatility. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Effect of Ad-Irrelevant Distance Cues on Persuasiveness of Message Framing

This research suggests that the relative persuasiveness of message framing depends on psychological distance induced by seemingly irrelevant cues in the ad environment. Positively (negatively) framed messages are more persuasive when the ad-irrelevant cues induce psychological remoteness (proximity). Across four studies and two different product categories, participants evaluated positively (negatively) framed messages more favorably when induced with social remoteness (proximity), spatial remoteness (proximity), and an abstract (concrete) construal. The findings contribute theoretically to the extant literature on message framing and offer actionable implications to ad managers for strategically designing ad environments to enhance the effectiveness of message framing.     

How banner ads can be effective

This research examines the impacts of exposure duration and banner ad complexity on advertising persuasion in a web advertising environment. Processing fluency is used to explain the underlying process that occurs among consumers during exposure to advertisements, and refers to the ease of stimulus encoding and processing that is facilitated by prior exposure to a banner ad. Based on previous studies (e.g. Reber et al. 1998), this research used a priming phase and a testing phase, in which respondents viewed two banner ads for the same brand. A banner ad presented in the priming phase facilitates viewer processing of a target banner ad in the testing phase due to processing fluency. The findings show that, when a banner ad is difficult to process in the priming phase, increasing the duration of exposure to the ad in the priming phase causes a linear increase in respondent attitudes towards the target ad and brand in the testing phase. When the priming banner ad is moderately difficult to process, increasing the exposure duration in the priming phase first increases, and then decreases, respondent attitudes towards the target ad and brand (an inverted-U pattern) in the testing phase. When the priming banner ad is easy to process, increasing the exposure duration in the priming phase first decreases, and then increases, respondent attitudes towards the target ad and brand (a U pattern) in the testing phase.     

Thinking pink? Consumer reactions to pink ribbons and vague messages in advertising

Many brands partner with causes in their advertising campaigns. Consumers appreciate that the brands they purchase participate in activities that contribute to a society’s well-being. This study uses copy-testing techniques to evaluate the number and types of thoughts and brand attitudes in the presence and absence of cause-related messages. Individuals saw an ad for one of two products. None of the ads stated the brand’s financial support to the cause, which is representative of many messages today. People viewing the Dansko ads with the pink ribbon generated significantly fewer thoughts than those viewing the ad without the pink ribbon. For the Fitbit ads, more thoughts were generated for the ad with the pink ribbon than the ad without the pink ribbon. The Fitbit ad with the pink ribbon and support message generated fewer positive and negative thoughts but more neutral thoughts that questioned the brand/cause relationship. Attitudes toward the brand did not vary based on the presence or absence of the pink ribbon. People who saw ads with the pink ribbon displayed more positive attitudes toward the brands’ commitment to society and misestimated the brands’ contributions to the cause.     

Ad–self‐congruency effects: Self‐enhancing cognitive and affective mechanisms

This article explores how the drive for self‐enhancement influences responses to ads depicting images that are self‐congruent along the dimensions of femininity and individualism/collectivism. Participants' schematics on the portrayed dimension were found to exhibit higher levels of cognitive self‐referencing and positive affect when the ad image was congruent with their ideal self‐schemata than when it was not. Greater self‐referencing and positive affect were found, in turn, to promote more favorable ad attitudes, thereby resulting in more positive brand attitudes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Why Narrative Ads Work: An Integrated Process Explanation

We propose and test an integrated process explanation for why narrative ads in general are more persuasive than non-narrative ads. A study involving a random sample of 25 narrative and 25 non-narrative TV commercials and 484 nonstudent research participants confirmed that a set of four process variables—emotive response, ad hedonic value, ad credibility, and perceived goal facilitation—collectively mediate the positive effects of narrative (versus non-narrative) ads on attitude toward the ad (A_ad) and brand attitudes. The results also supported moderated mediation processes, with type of featured product and product involvement as important moderators. Implications for theory as well as practice are discussed.     

Using food pictorial metaphor in the advertising of non-food brands: An exploratory investigation of consumer interpretation and affective response

Using visual metaphors in ads is one of the communication techniques that brands have adopted to grab consumers' attention. The phenomenon of using food pictorial metaphors in non-food brand ads has spread in recent years, and given food's sensory nature, using this cue for a non-food brand can affect the way in which consumers interpret such ads. This research seeks to understand whether and how consumers perceive and process such a rhetorical figure. An exploratory qualitative approach is taken in two studies by using semi-structured interviews to explore consumers' reactions to different types of ads with food visual metaphors. The results reveal the predominance of congruency as a key processing mechanism of the ad at three levels: (a) between the food pictorial metaphor and the brand product category, (b) between the food visual metaphor and the brand itself, and (c) between the visual metaphor and the headline. Moreover, the food appetizing dimension, ad creativity, aesthetic appreciation of the ad, and consumers' aesthetic sensitivity are all revealed to play major roles in attitudes toward the ad.     

The carryover effect of national identity activation on consumers' evaluations of ads with patriotic appeals

This study examined how the activation of national identity (NI) in diverse contexts influenced how consumers subsequently evaluated ads featuring patriotic appeals. Specifically, this study proposed that the activation of NI through different priming contexts would influence the comparative persuasiveness of patriotic ad messages framed by two different regulatory foci. Findings from this study suggest that (a) when a negative NI prime (Study 1) aroused fear (vs. sadness), consumers responded more favorably to patriotic ads with a prevention-focused (vs. promotion-focused) patriotic appeal and that (b) when a positive NI prime (Study 2) aroused happiness or relief, consumers showed more favorable attitude toward the promotion-focused (vs. prevention-focused) patriotic appeal. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

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.     

The moderating influence of ad framing for ad–self‐congruency effects

Prior research indicates that ad–self‐congruency effects are significant only when participants are not motivated to process ad messages, as when they are in a positive rather than negative affective state (Chang, 2002a). In line with this reasoning, it was expected that ad tactics such as ad framing that can evoke emotional responses would determine reliance on ad–self‐congruency for making judgments. As expected, when positive emotions were evoked by positive ad framing, participants formed brand evaluations based on ad–self‐congruency, generating more positive responses to self‐congruent ad messages than to self‐incongruent messages. In contrast, when negative emotions were elicited by negative ad framing, responses to self‐congruent ad messages and self‐incongruent messages were not significantly different. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Parent-protecting advertising in product line extensions: Role of communication strategy,message type and extension type

Product line extension, the introduction of new products under the same brand name in a given product category, is a growing practice of product innovation in many industries. However, when companies launch line extensions, information of the new products positively or negatively affects consumer evaluations of the parent products in the same line, generating the so-called spillover effects. Through two experimental studies, the current research explores how marketers can employ appropriate communication strategies and message types in advertising to induce favourable spillovers or to avoid negative spillovers in product line extensions. Experiment 1 investigates the interaction between communication strategy and line extension type. Results reveal that for vertical high-end extensions and for horizontal line extensions, ads using relational strategy that focuses on the relatedness between products in the line increase consumer valuation of the parent product; for vertical low-end extensions, ads with elaboration strategy that stresses the uniqueness of the extensions avoid negative spillovers on parents. Experiment 2 further examines how message type moderates the spillover effects in elaboration ads. Results show that, compared with numerical messages, literal messages engender smaller valuation decreases on the parents and consequently alleviate undesirable spillover effects for most types of product line extensions.     

The Power of Creative Advertising and Consumers’ Perceived Risk

Despite the growing importance of creative advertising as an effective marketing tool, little is known about the process through which it influences preexisting attitudes for familiar brands and factors that moderate its effectiveness. To fill this gap, A 2 advertising type (creative vs. normal) by 2 product category (high risk vs. low risk) experiment was conducted. Four creative ads and four normal ads were developed for some familiar brands and were exhibited for participants. Results indicate that creative ads significantly lead to more favorable ad credibility, ad attitude, brand attitude, and purchase intention than normal ads. Perceived product risk was found to moderate the effectiveness of creative ads.     

Effects beyond click-through: Incidental exposure to web advertising

While Web advertising tends to be based on a direct response model, there is a growing debate about the brand building potentials of Web ads. Click-through rates (CTR) are disappointingly low, but Web ads can be effective at brand building in an environment where Web ads are outside of consumers' attentional focus. With this in mind we conducted two experiments. The first experiment examined the effects of incidental exposure to banner ads. Subjects who were incidentally exposed to banner ads reported greater priming effects induced by implicit memory, more favorable A_ad, and greater likelihood for the advertised brand to be included in a consideration set over no exposure to the ad. These effects were found without significant improvement on explicit memories (i.e. recall and recognition) and click-through intention. The second experiment to assess the conditions conducive to incidental exposure examined two advertising strategies: format (animated vs. static) and placement (congruency vs. incongruency). Findings suggest that the level of congruency between an advertised product and Webpage content play significant roles in affecting consumers' responses to incidentally exposed banner ads. This paper examines the results of these two experiments before discussing the implications for the role of Web ads on brand building and directions for future research.     

Does gay-themed advertising haunt your brand?

This study is designed to investigate the effect of gay-themed advertising as well as consumers’ gender, tolerance towards homosexuality (low vs high tolerance) and consumers’ brand commitment (low vs high commitment) on attitude towards ad and attitude towards brand. The study result suggests that people exposed to non-gay-themed ads had more positive attitudes towards the brand than did people exposed to gay-themed ads. The study findings suggest that ads featuring homosexual imagery could lead to negative brand evaluation. The study finds that heterosexual males exposed to such ads had less favourable attitudes towards the advertising and brand as well. The study finds that subjects with high tolerance towards homosexuality have more positive attitudes towards the ad and brand, and have higher purchase intention than do subjects with low tolerance. Furthermore, the results suggest that people with high brand commitment had more favourable attitudes towards ad and brand. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

The effects of tolerance of negativity on consumers’ responses to comparative attack advertising

This paper focuses on ‘tolerance of negativity’ (TON) as a means of understanding and predicting consumers’ responses to negative marketing communications. The results of three empirical studies suggest that consumers who are low (as opposed to high) in TON (when measured and/or primed) find negatively framed comparative ads to be less fair, less useful, and have less favorable attitudes toward the ad and sponsor brand. Importantly, cognitive elaboration is shown to moderate these effects. Specifically, one’s TON is found to be more impactful when individuals are engaged with an ad (i.e. when cognitive elaboration is greater) as opposed to when cognitive elaboration is lower. Interestingly, TON’s moderating influence was not observed in any of the studies when attitudes toward the compared-to brand were the dependent variable.     

THE MEDIUM AS A CONTEXTUAL CUE: Effects of Creative Media Choice

This paper adds to the research on media-context effects with a study of creative media choice (i.e., creatively choosing a medium to implicitly communicate the message). In an experiment, ads were placed in a creative media choice setting and compared with identical ads in a traditional medium. Employing theories on media-source effects and on cognitive priming and assimilation, it is hypothesized that the creative media choice enhances the perception of target brand associations and increases ad credibility and ad and brand attitudes. The results support the hypotheses. The effects of creative media choice are moderated by congruence, and additional analyses suggest that they may be mediated by surprise.     

Why are childlike portrayals appealing in East Asia?

This study compares the effectiveness of childlike and adult-like portrayals in Taiwan and the US. It is argued that culturally shaped self-concepts affect responses to ads using these two types of portrayal. Childlike portrayals should exert a positive influence on ad evaluations in cultures where such images are generally relevant to and congruent with the self-concept. Findings of an experiment showed that, in both cultures, childlike portrayals were perceived as friendlier than adult-like portrayals. Taiwanese participants, however, whose interdependent self-concepts focus on interpersonal relations and harmony, reported more warm feelings and a stronger self–brand connection, as well as more favourable attitudes towards the ad and the brand, following exposure to the childlike portrayal. In contrast, American participants did not respond to the two portrayals differently, presumably because they found the childlike image to be less relevant to their independent self-concepts.