How to portray men and women in advertisements? Explicit and implicit evaluations of ads depicting different gender roles.

The purpose of the current study was to gain more insight in the evaluation of advertisements containing different gender role portrayals (stereotypical/a-stereotypical) by examining explicit and implicit processes of ad evaluation. The results of two experiments showed an explicit preference for ads containing a-stereotypical images. Implicitly, we found a preference for 'warm' ads irrespective of the degree of gender stereotypicality of the ad. These findings suggest that complex stimuli such as ads may inhibit implicit gender stereotype activation. At an implicit level, warmth seems a better predictor of ad evaluation.Ad evaluation; Evaluation; Gender role portrayal; Image; Implicit association test; Implicit attitudes; Implicit stereotyping; Preference; Processes; Research; Roles; Studies;

Spreading word of mouth when loving and hating the same object: The impact of attitude ambivalence on pre- and post-failure word of mouth

This paper presents four studies investigating the impact of attitudinal ambivalence - and different types of ambivalence based on the type of underlying conflicting reactions; manifest and anticipated ambivalence - on positive and negative word-of-mouth (WOM). Results of Study 1 and 2 indicate that manifest ambivalent respondents spread more negative and less positive WOM compared to anticipated ambivalent and univalent respondents. Study 3 and 4 show that the impact of a product failure in terms of spreading positive and negative WOM is larger for respondents holding univalent or anticipated ambivalent attitudes than for manifest ambivalent respondents

Intention superiority as a mechanism of the question-behavior effect

This paper investigates the mere measurement effect from an intention superiority perspective. Relying on the dynamic processes that characterize intention-related information in memory, the first study shows that a brand tied to an intention remains in a heightened state of activation until choice, after which it becomes inhibited. Competitive brands that are distracting from intention completion are inhibited prior to the completion of the intention. These changes in brand activation drive the mere measurement effect. Two additional studies show that intention superiority can explain findings that cannot be accounted for by traditional theoretical explanations, such as increased choice of the preferred brand after activation of a negatively evaluated brand and decreased choice of the preferred brand when consumers make two subsequent choices

Advertising repetition and complexity of digital signage advertisements: simplicity rules!

Digital signage is probably the most skyrocketing advertising medium of the moment, since the LCD-screens are almost impossible to avoid in everyday life for consumers, while few academic research is present to explore the potential of this medium. An experiment (3x2x4) was conducted to test the role of the intensity of complexity (simple/moderate/complex), the dimension of complexity (visual/lexical) and the level of repetition (one/four/seven/ten exposures) on the attitude toward digital signage advertisements (Aad). The results indicate a significant influence of advertising complexity on Aad, where simple ads with a dominant visual component clearly work best

A motivational account of the question-behavior effect

To explain the question-behavior effect, that is, the effect of answering an intention question on subsequent behavior, this article takes on a motivational perspective and proposes that answering an intention question automatically activates an intention. The activation of this motivational state influences subsequent brand choices due to changes in brand accessibilities. Three studies provide support for the assumption that responding to an intention question affects brand choices through a motivational mechanism, such that (1) answering an intention increases the accessibility of motivation-related information and decreases the accessibility of motivation-competing information which increases the choice for the intentionrelated brand; (2) intention completion temporarily reverses the foregoing accessibility patterns, instigating a reversal of the brand choices for an immediate, second brand choice; and (3) the changes in brand accessibilities and thus the behavioral effect persist as the delay between the intention question and brand choice occasion increases until intention completion

From informational towards transformational advertising strategies? A content analysis of Belgian food magazine advertisements

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to perform a preliminary examination of informational and transformational advertising appeals in contemporary advertisements for healthy and unhealthy foods. Design/methodology/approach Western (European) food advertisements published in Belgian food magazines were content analyzed to identify informational and transformational advertising appeals. Belgian food advertising was selected as an adequate representation of Western (European) food advertising because marketing in Belgium is permeated by international influences (cf. Belgian Federal Government). Advertisements were sampled from three magazines over a period of five years, from January 2009 to December 2013. The sample comprised 325 unique advertisements, including 159 for healthy foods and 166 for unhealthy foods. Findings The results of the content analysis indicated that healthy food advertisements in Belgium are mainly informational, whereas unhealthy food advertisements are mainly transformational. Originality/value This preliminary examination of informational and transformational advertising appeals in contemporary healthy food and unhealthy food advertisements shows that healthy food advertisements in Belgium are mainly informational, whereas the segment of consumers which is precarious – people low-involved with healthy food – are mainly attracted by transformational advertising appeals. The contrasting transformational strategy of unhealthy-food advertisements can provide inspiration for healthy food advertisers to help increase healthy food consumption. </jats:sec

The calibrated sigma method : an efficient remedy for between-group differences in response category use on likert scales

The authors propose a procedure, labeled the calibrated sigma method, which is designed to correct for between-group differences in endorsement likelihood of response categories that are unrelated to the content of the items. The method is especially useful in cross-cultural research where group differences may reflect variation in scale usage rather than substantive differences. However, the procedure is also relevant in other situations, for example, when different data collection modes or different experimental manipulations affect respondents’ perception of the meaning of the scale labels. The calibrated sigma method uses information derived from heterogeneous control items (calibration items) to reweight the responses to substantive items in a group-specific way. The advantages of the calibrated sigma method are that it avoids the arbitrariness in the assignment of particular numerical values to response categories; that it is compatible with the linear model, which is used by most marketing researchers; and that it does not require the use of complex nonlinear models involving the estimation of many additional measurement model parameters. The authors validate the calibrated sigma method on a simulated cross-linguistic data set pertaining to 12 different languages; an empirical data set collected from respondents of the same nationality but from two different language groups; and an experimental data set consisting of responses to two different response scale formats. The findings demonstrate that the proposed procedure controls for artefactual scale use differences across groups but does not eliminate substantive differences. It is particularly efficient for marketing research agencies, panel providers and other marketing researchers who analyze surveys involving multiple language groups, different scale formats, multiple modes of data collection, or different manipulations affecting the meaning of the response category labels