The Impact of Advertising Appeals on Consumers’ Perception of an Advertisement for a Technical Product and the Moderating Roles of Endorser Type and Endorser Age

Abstract

Companies market their products by employing various elements in their advertisements. Previous studies have shown that the use of different types of endorsers (e.g., product experts, consumers) can result in different effects. At the same time, the use of certain appeals (rational vs. emotional) in product advertisements also matters for customer outcomes. While the extent to which the effects of message appeal depend on endorser type has received some research attention, the interaction between message appeal and endorser’s age is not yet known. A 2 (message appeal: rational vs. emotional) × 2 (endorser type: product expert vs. consumer) × 2 (endorser’s age: an endorser in his 20s vs. an endorser in his 50s) experimental study with 270 German consumers was implemented. MANOVA results indicate that only the message appeal matters for consumer outcomes such as message credibility, product attitude, and purchase intention. The hypothesized main effects for endorser type on the dependent variables are not empirically supported. Furthermore, the interaction effects for message appeal and endorser types are also not statistically significant.