Advertisements: Multileveled in Word and Image and in the Mind of the Beholder

Abstract

This study compared cognitive and psychodynamic perspectives on responses to simple and complex advertisements for perfume and liquor products. In simple ads, copy/image relations are concordant and sentimentalized, while in complex ads relations are discordant and ironic. It was hypothesized that writing story outlines based on simple ads would provide a means for projecting compensatory fantasies onto the scenes, while analyzing copy/image relations in complex ads would make viewers more aware of stimulus qualities in the ads. Thirty-one male and twenty-one female undergraduates viewed four perfume and four liquor ads. Commodity (perfume, liquor) and Advertising Style (simple, complex) were factorially combined in two blocks of four trials each. In a within-subjects design, subjects either wrote story outlines first and analyzed copy-image relations, or vice-versa. They then rated each ad on thirteen 7-point scales measuring perceived stimulus properties (e.g., quality of the ad) and subjective processes (e.g., liking or experiencing fantasies). Results showed that three factors underlined the judgments: Compensation (enhanced feelings of success, confidence, power, and masculinity/femininity), Effectiveness (ad was liked, perceived as good, stimulated fantasies, and an intention to purchase the product), and Action (everyday use of perfume/after shave or liquor products). Writing stories in response to simple perfume ads had a facilitative influence on scales loading on the Compensation factor. Content analysis showed that simple perfume ads elicited romantic stories, while analyzing copy-image relations fostered seduction themes and a sensitivity to metaphor. These findings provided support for Lacan's idea that people need to compensate for self-perceived inadequacies, but also fit with cognitive/empirical ideas.