Study on the effect of text direction and temporal focus on advertising persuasiveness

Abstract

AbstractGlobal brands are benefiting from the rapidly growing demand in China. Text displayed both vertically and horizontally is common in Chinese advertisements. The skillful use of text direction can effectively improve advertising persuasiveness. Using two studies, we find that the descriptions of an advertisement that are displayed vertically (vs. horizontally) result in enhanced advertising persuasiveness among consumers who focus on the past. In contrast, the reverse holds for consumers who focus on the future. Furthermore, the results show that consumers' sense of “feeling right” mediates the interaction effect. In addition, we demonstrate how product category plays a vital role in the three‐way interaction effects between product category, temporal focus, and text direction on “feeling right.” Compared with utilitarian products, vertical descriptions of hedonic products enhance consumers' sense of “feeling right” when they are in the past‐focus condition. Our findings enrich advertising theory and practice. Meanwhile, we also elucidate the effects of text direction on Chinese advertising.