Positive Advertising Research Articles

Subjective variability of the “just-right feeling”: Effectiveness of social media advertising design

With the rapid advancement of AI and algorithmic technologies, social media platforms have gained the ability to identify consumer personality traits. However, developing compelling advertising strategies for individuals with different self-construals remains challenging. Based on construal level theory, this research investigates the interactions between shot scale, advertising appeals, and self-construal on social media. The results of the four empirical studies indicated that independent individuals prefer advertisements with long-shot images and desirability appeals. In contrast, interdependent individuals favor advertisements with close-up images and feasibility appeals. Furthermore, the findings reveal that long-shot images match with desirability appeals or close-up images paired with feasibility appeals significantly increase the click-through rate and foster more positive advertising attitudes. The above findings are central to the feeling right during information processing, which plays a crucial role in advertising acceptance. Therefore, this research constructs a new framework for personalized advertisement design in social media and offers a practical guide for businesses seeking to optimize their advertising strategies.

Going green to repair damaged self‐concept: The interplay of self‐deficit and benefit appeals on green consumer behavior

AbstractThis research is an empirical investigation of the interaction effect between self‐deficit and benefit‐appeal message framing upon subsequent environmental sustainability decision‐making. Based on the self‐discrepancy theory, the current research demonstrates that behavioral intentions that encourage environmental sustainability could serve as a means of compensating for the self‐deficit appraisal. Two online experiments empirically test that self‐deficit moderated the effect of benefit‐appeal (self vs. other) on ad evaluation and purchasing intention toward an environmentally sustainable brand. In particular, Study 1 demonstrated that when in a self‐deficit state, self‐benefit appeals are more effective than altruistic other‐benefit appeals in enhancing positive advertising evaluation and purchase intention toward a brand that advocates environmental sustainability. On the other hand, the opposite pattern was captured when self‐deficit was minimized. Study 2 replicated these findings using a different brand, confirming the interaction effect between self‐deficit and benefit appeal, and further investigated whether consumers' positive ad evaluation mediates the interaction effect of benefit appeals and self‐deficit on purchase intention. The findings also offer managerial implications recommending that advertisers and marketers tailor their ad messaging to match consumers' desires and wants.

Influence of gender and marital status on susceptibility of persuasion strategies in advertisement

The study has two main objectives: to find out what is the susceptibility of individuals to the persuasion strategies of Cialdini 's persuasive power according to gender and to determine some characteristics of users with different marital status in social influence. Cialdini's (2001-2021) persuasion strategies (principles), as well as Keptein's STPS (2009), were applied to measure the susceptibility to persuasion of individuals of both genders with different marital status. The results of an analysis of variance (ANOVA), measuring the influence of gender, showed that on the criterion of susceptibility to persuasion, males were more influenced by the following strategies: liking, reciprocity, authority, and social proof relative to females with the exception of the principle of commitment and consistency, and individuals who are divorced, separated and widowed responded positively to strategies such as social proof, scarcity and authority. Through regression analysis, social influence was found for unmarried users with respect to the reciprocity principle, as well as authority and scarcity when combining the latter strategies. Individuals who are cohabiting or married, as well as divorced, separated, and widowed, gave positive advertising responses to the scarcity principle, but cohabiting and married consumers exhibiting commitment and consistency under the influence of advertising. Hence, this study can serve organizations offering products and services through advertising, and its originality lies in the findings of mixed consumer responses regarding gender and marital status.

Sex, race, and femininity: young Chinese females’ responses to lingerie advertising

This study examines the effects of a lingerie model’s femininity (submissive vs. assertive), race (East Asian vs. Caucasian), and presence/absence (model-presence vs. product-only) on young Chinese female consumers’ advertising evaluation, body image, and gender role attitudes. Results from an experiment show that ads with lingerie models presenting assertive femininity (sexual subjects) receive more positive advertising evaluation but result in more traditional gender role attitudes than ads with those presenting submissive femininity (sexual objects). Caucasian lingerie models receive more positive advertising evaluation than East Asian lingerie models. Product-only lingerie advertisements are more positively evaluated and predict a more positive body image than lingerie advertisements with models. The findings of this study provide empirical support for feminist scholars’ critique of the postfeminist media culture and advertising use of sexual empowerment discourse, which paradoxically disempowers women.

Advertising disclosure in sponsored vlogs: an eye-tracking study on the effects of disclosure timing and the moderating role of disclosure type

Regulations prescribe that sponsored influencer vlogs on social media should clearly disclose the embedded advertising to naive viewers. This study conducts an eye-tracking experiment involving 200 Chinese college students (18–30 years of age) to investigate how disclosure timing and disclosure type affect advertising effectiveness, including brand trust, brand attitude, purchase intention, and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intent. The results showed that, compared to post-disclosure, prior disclosure attracted more viewers’ visual attention, leading to higher persuasion knowledge activation, and then negatively affected para-social interaction (PSI), resulting in decreased advertising effectiveness. Meanwhile, the higher visual attention allocation to the prior disclosure also activated higher sponsorship transparency perception, which then increased the PSI and, subsequently, led to more positive advertising effectiveness. However, these relationships were only significant for implicit (vs. explicit) disclosure. This study provides theoretical and practical implications for disclosure usage in Chinese influencer marketing.

Elite athletes more authentic?: Diet and exercise effects of athletes v. models in ads

ABSTRACT People automatically determine the authenticity of an advertisement, with more authentic ads resulting in more positive advertising evaluations and subsequent behaviors. Building on these past findings, this study sheds light on the exposure of women to images of elite female athletes and athletic-ideal models and subsequent attitudes and behavioral intentions. The study (N = 444) found that elite athletes are seen as more authentic and more influential on health outcomes. Our results suggest opportunities for sports, health, or athletics advertisers (or general advertisers) to capitalize on the potential of elite or professional athlete endorsers in an effort to increase positive health-related behaviors and suggest intent to use products advertised.

Augmented Reality Advertising in Entertainment Programming: An Exploration Across Cultures

Augmented reality (AR) ads in entertainment programming are fairly new and not extensively studied. Given the lack of precedence, this exploratory study applies the Limited-Capacity Model and Schema Congruity Theory (SCT) to examine their advertising effects. We used a 2 (type of product placement: title sponsorship placement vs. background placement) × 2 (congruence with the characteristics of the programme: congruent vs. incongruent) × 2 (cross-screen advertising: 3D dynamic advertisement vs. 2D advertisement) × 2 (culture: United States vs. Taiwan) between-subjects experiment design. Our results show incongruent brand recall is greater than congruent recall for American viewers and Taiwanese viewers have better attitudes towards AR dynamic advertisement presentations of title sponsorships that are congruent with the programme. Global AR advertising campaigns can benefit from cultural differences. We propose three specific recommendations to advertisers seeking to apply AR in product placements: (a) For American viewers, incongruous product placements should be able to facilitate positive advertisement attitudes, (b) In TV shows, 2D advertisements can improve advertisement attitudes in some cases, and (c) For Taiwanese audiences, congruent title sponsorships or incongruent background placements can produce better advertisement attitudes.

Motivational system approach to understand ad processing following various game outcomes

ABSTRACT In this study we test how audience emotions induced by televised sports interact with the emotional tone of advertisements to influence ad processing. Past research exploring this carry-over effect has either neglected the arousal induced by the sporting event or failed to present positive and negative ads to participants. In this study we use a 2 (sports-induced valence: positive/negative) x 2 (sports-induced arousal: calm/arousing), x 2 (ad valence: positive/negative) mixed-design experiment. Participants had psychophysiological measures of cognitive resource allocation and emotional response measured throughout. We found that positive advertisements performed best in cognitive resource allocation in a congruent arousing/positive programming context, whereas negative advertisements worked better following an incongruent calm/positive programming context. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.

A Study on the Moderating Effects of Consumers’ Consumption Propensity in Respect to the Effects SNS Advertising Attributes and SNS Engagement Had on Selection Intention of Beauty Shops

This study aimed to examine the effects SNS advertising attributes had on SNS engagement and in respect to them, moderating effects appeared according to consumers’ consumption propensity, positively verified the cause and effects SNS engagement had on SNS advertising attitude and selection intention of beauty shops. A total of 379 copies of responses collected from consumers who were using SNS were analyzed and the results are presented as follows: First, in respect to SNS advertising attributes in beauty shops, only reliability and entertainment had a significant effect on SNS engagement while usefulness and informativeness did not have a significant effect on SNS engagement. It indicates that consumers who retrieved and were exposed to an infinite number of data on beauty shops would have less interest in SNS advertisement on beauty shops. Second, in respect to the effect SNS advertising attributes had on SNS engagement, usefulness and reliability had a significant effect on the moderating effect of consumption propensity; the moderating effect of practical consumption propensity was significant; and in respect to the effect usefulness had on SNS engagement, usefulness of advertisement was different according to customers with impulsive consumption propensity. Third, SNS engagement and SNS advertising attitude had a significant effect on selection intention of beauty shops, which indicates that when positive advertising attitude was formed through engagement to SNS advertisement, selection intention of the beauty shops was higher. For SNS advertisement towards customers, it is suggested that more effective strategies that can attract more customers to have positive interest in services should be developed.

Environmental concern as a moderator of information processing: A fMRI study

The psychological processes that predict behaviour can be influenced by the approaches taken in environmental awareness messages. The persuasiveness generated by different approaches depends on the environmental concern of viewers. The study identifies brain regions active while processing positive advertisements. It also studies brain activity in subjects with high (vs low) environmental concern while processing positive ads. In addition, it relates the brain activity evoked in response to positive ads which predicts more significant attitudes toward the ads, in subjects with great environmental concern. The results indicate that positive messages activate regions linked to self-value and societal benefit in those subjects who are more concerned. We found a stronger effect in regions linked to an emotional response in viewers with greater environmental concern. The identified emotional response may precede higher attitudinal ratings.

Social Media Advertising through Private Messages and Public Feeds: A Congruency Effect between Communication Channels and Advertising Appeals

This paper investigates the effectiveness of agentic and communal advertising appeals delivered through two IT-enabled communication channels (private messages and public feeds) on social media. Drawing on the prior literature, we propose a congruency effect of advertising appeals and channels on advertisement effectiveness. The results of three experiments show that agentic appeals delivered through public feeds generate favorable advertisement attitudes, and the effect is mediated by consumer self-efficacy perception. Communal appeals delivered through private messages engender positive advertisement attitudes, and the effect is mediated by consumer social self-efficacy perception. The findings provide implications to firms in social media advertising strategies.

Can warning labels mitigate effects of advertising message claims in celebrity-endorsed Instagram-based electronic cigarette advertisements? Influence on social media users’ E-cigarette attitudes and behavioral intentions

ABSTRACT Electronic cigarette brands are increasingly using social media to advertise their products. This study examined effects of advertising message claim type (reduced risk [‘Healthier than regular cigarettes’], cessation [‘Quit smoking using e-cigarettes’] versus no message claim) and health warning labels (presence versus absence) in celebrity-endorsed Instagram e-cigarette brand advertisements. A 3 × 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted through an online questionnaire, with participants (N = 275) randomly assigned to 1 of 6 experimental conditions. Presence of a health warning label exerted significant main effects on attitude towards the ad, intention to use e-cigarettes, and brand attitude, and interacted with message claim type to affect these dependent measures. Health consciousness, perceived information value, and celebrity identification also significantly moderated between presence of a health warning label and attitude towards the ad, intention to use e-cigarettes, and brand attitude. Presence of health warning labels in social media-based e-cigarette ads may therefore mitigate potential effects of positive advertising claims in these ads. Implications for regulatory agencies and future research are discussed.

Stay positive or go negative? Memory imperfections and messaging strategy

This paper studies the optimal mix of message content in elections while explicitly accounting for voters' memory imperfections. We build an analytical model of a political contest between two candidates facing an election with an electorate consisting of supporters, opponents, and undecided voters. The candidates take decisions on advertising sequence and content (positive vs. negative). Our model explicitly considers the role of memory processes, in particular decay (the idea that memories fade with time) and rehearsal (the idea that accessing a memory eases its recall,) that crucially affect how effective ads are in influencing choice. The model yields several interesting insights: (a) when both candidates have low initial support, they invest only in positive messages; (b) when both candidates are endowed with high initial support, their messaging strategies take a “pulsing” shape involving negative advertising accompanied by positive advertising; (c) when one candidate has low initial support while the other has high initial support, the former adopts a “pulsing” strategy while the latter adopts only positive advertising. Furthermore, we show that a candidate with low initial support facing a candidate with high initial support responds with a messaging strategy bunched with negative content towards the end of the election cycle. Our model's predictions are shown to find empirical support in a dataset assembled from 2016 U.S. Senate races.

СВЕТЛАЯ И ТЕМНАЯ СТОРОНЫ РЕКЛАМЫ

Article considers two sides of modern advertising: light and dark. The bright side refers to the actual informing of consumers about meaning and role of goods, trademarks, brands and manufacturers; drawing attention to topical problems of society; assistance to manufacturers in the speedy sale of their products. The dark side of advertising is its obsession, pollution of the information space, excessive spending of budget funds of companies in the absence of a positive advertising effect. As an illustration of the problems under consideration, the results of a survey of consumers about their attitude to various types of advertising and sources of its receipt are given.

News Feed Advertising and Positive Attitude: An Interpretation Model Based on Information Processing

This study mainly examines the different effects and mechanisms of news feed advertising (vs. traditional display advertising) on advertising attitude and brand attitude by using an observational experiment that categorized participants based on their past experiences. By analyzing the video advertising of the “Li Ning” brand, three conclusion were drawn. First, compared with traditional display advertising, news feed advertising led to more positive advertising attitude and brand attitude. Second, generation and transmission mechanism of attitudes were applicable to the interpretation rules of the classical information processing process model, which showed that the information processing process of the news feed advertising and the traditional display advertising were consistent. Third, consumer’s brand experience did not affect the direct effects of “attention” on “memory,” but affected the mediate role of “interpretation,” which showed that news feed advertising may have a stronger “drainage” effect when promoting new products and developing new markets. However, if the consumer’s experience is not enhanced, the brand attitude triggered by news feed advertising will still not be stable. These findings are conducive to further understanding the effect of news feed advertising on advertising attitude and brand attitude.

Influencer advertising on Instagram: product-influencer fit and number of followers affect advertising outcomes and influencer evaluations via credibility and identification

Social media influencers are increasingly employed as product endorsers, and a growing body of academic research confirms that influencers are an effective advertising instrument. However, more research is needed on the specific influencer characteristics driving this success, and the processes responsible for these effects. In this study, we investigated to what extent product-influencer fit and number of followers interact in contributing to positive advertising outcomes and influencer evaluations. Moreover, we investigated to what extent perceived credibility of the influencer and identification with the influencer mediate these relationships. We conducted a 2 (poor vs. good product-influencer fit) X 2 (moderate vs. high number of followers) between-subjects experiment among 432 Dutch Instagram users. Participants were exposed to Instagram posts of health and fitness influencers who endorsed either a protein shake (good-fit) or ice cream (poor-fit). Results showed that fit and number of followers seem to work in tandem: although influencers with a high number of followers are liked more, and their endorsements result in a more positive attitude toward both the ad and product, and a greater likelihood to buy the advertised product as compared to influencers with a moderate number of followers, the endorsed product should fit the influencer’s self-branded image for these positive effects to occur. Moreover, effects were all mediated by perceived credibility and identification, which appear to be important drivers of influencer endorsement effects. Together, our findings contribute to a growing body of knowledge on the processes driving audience responses to influencer marketing, and provide clear guidelines for practitioners.

Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd: The Interplay between Collective versus Solo Anthropomorphic Brand Appeals and Gender

Anthropomorphism in advertising has been shown to create positive advertising and branding outcomes. In this research, we introduce an important internal variation in this ad strategy—advertising a brand as collective- versus solo-anthropomorphized (i.e., the presence of multiple anthropomorphized entities versus one entity). Four studies overall demonstrate that advertising a brand as collective- (versus solo-)anthropomorphized decreases advertising effectiveness. We further show that these two types of brand anthropomorphism significantly interact with gender. That is, our research reveals that women develop lower expectations of relationship closeness with a collective- (versus solo-)anthropomorphized brand, thereby resulting in lower effectiveness of collective anthropomorphic ad appeals. In contrast, we find no detrimental effect of this ad strategy for men. Importantly, our work establishes that explicitly incorporating relationship potential cues in collectively anthropomorphized ad copy or inducing no expectations of close relationships with a brand will attenuate the negative impact of a collective- (versus solo-)anthropomorphized ad appeals on advertising effectiveness.

A Study on Green Advertising Effectiveness in the Perspective of Image Proximity.

Based on the construal level theory (CLT), this study discusses the effects of congruence between image proximity and product type on advertising attitude and product attitude from the perspective of spatial distance and investigates the mediating role of mental imagery. Data are collected using two laboratory experiments and one online experiment. A two-way ANOVA is used to test the interaction between image proximity and product type, and a bootstrap analysis is used to test the mediating role of mental imagery. The result shows that: (1) For search products, compared with full-length shots, the close-up shots of environmental information can enable consumers to generate more positive advertising attitude and product attitude. For experience products, the full-length shots of environmental information can enable consumers to generate more positive advertising attitude and product attitude than the close-up shots. (2) The congruence effect of image proximity and product type has an impact on advertising attitude and product attitude through mental imagery. This research uses different kinds of image proximity to express environmental information about green products and tries to interpret the effectiveness of green advertisements from a new perspective.

“I’m (Not) Offended by Whom I See!” The Role of Culture and Model Ethnicity in Shaping Consumers’ Responses toward Offensive Nudity Advertising in Asia and Western Europe

Based on culture identity theory and schema theory, we investigate how model ethnicity influences the perception and effectiveness of potentially offensive nudity advertising in Asia and Western Europe. Study 1 with 5,193 ad evaluations by 1,731 subjects from two countries shows that the overall perceived offensiveness in nudity advertising was higher in Asia (China) than in Western Europe (Austria). While previous research indicates that same-ethnicity endorsers are typically favorable for advertising outcomes, our study demonstrates that same-ethnicity endorsers in nudity advertising led to a higher perceived offensiveness and more negative advertising outcomes in Asia, as compared to endorsers of other ethnicities. In Western Europe, in contrast, same-ethnicity endorsers led to a lower perceived offensiveness and more positive advertising outcomes. A follow-up experiment with 373 subjects validated the results. We suggest a model of multi-ethnic offensive nudity advertising effects that is tested with structural equation modeling. Our findings have implications for international advertising theory and international advertising practice.

Prevalence of violent advertisements in New York City subways.

Background: Media advertisements displaying aggression and violence in public transit spaces represent a public health concern. The high visibility of ads likely contributes to increased levels of aggression among New York City (NYC) youths traveling across boroughs. Given the importance of the physical, psychological and social environment in shaping the lives of youth, additional attention is warranted regarding how media advertisements are promoted within public transit spaces across America. The aim of this study was to document quantity and placement of advertisements illustrating aggressive and violent content throughout the NYC public transit subway system. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a five-day period in June 2017. Direct observation was used to document all advertisements within every NYC Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) subway station (N = 472) in four NYC boroughs: Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Static media advertisements with/without aggressive and violent content displayed on subway platform wall panels above and underground were counted, photographed and described with a mobile app. Results: Aggressive and violent ads in the MTA were pervasive. Subway platforms displayed advertising consisting of guns, individuals fighting and attacking, and words with aggressive language. Conclusion: Public transit spaces provide unregulated visual and verbal messages without citizen participation. Subway stations in NYC and across the country prohibition stance could be a model for violent content reduction. Given the pervasive and tragic effects of aggression and violence on youth and adults, transit agencies could inundate passengers with positive advertising content. Dialogue between citizens and transit agencies to remove noxious messages from public transit spaces warrants the same discussion given to banning alcohol advertisements.