INDIRECT PERSUASION IN ADVERTISING: How Consumers Process Metaphors Presented in Pictures and Words

Indirect persuasion attempts are common in magazine advertisements. Although the use of an indirect claim presumably offers some advantage to an advertiser, as yet, little is known about how consumers process different types of indirect claims. We develop the proposition that when consumers are pres...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of advertising 2005-07, Vol.34 (2), p.7-20
Main Authors: McQuarrie, Edward F., Phillips, Barbara J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advertising
Advertising research
Brands
Business studies
Consumer advertising
Consumer attitudes
Consumer research
Consumers
Effectiveness
False advertising
Forecasts and trends
Fuzzy sets
Implicature
Inference
Influence
Magazine advertising
Metaphor
Metaphors
Persuasion
Print advertising
Public policy
Statistical analysis
Studies
Verbal communication
Visual aids
Words
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:Indirect persuasion attempts are common in magazine advertisements. Although the use of an indirect claim presumably offers some advantage to an advertiser, as yet, little is known about how consumers process different types of indirect claims. We develop the proposition that when consumers are presented with an indirect metaphorical claim, they become more receptive to multiple positive inferences about the advertised brand. In addition, when the indirect metaphorical claim takes the form of a picture, consumers are more likely to spontaneously generate such positive inferences at the time of ad exposure. These ideas are supported in an experiment using response latency data. Because many of the inferences examined in this study could be considered misleading if claimed directly, the paper concludes with a discussion of the public policy implications of the findings.
ISSN:0091-3367
1557-7805
DOI:10.1080/00913367.2005.10639188