Although some research into warning labels in advertisements has been conducted, little examines the impact of the placement of labels in print ads, including consumer responses to warning label placement and consumer response effects. Social contract theory suggests that consumers may, somewhat paradoxically, put a relatively high value on an advertisement of a brand that prominently displays warning information, rather than minimizing it. Our research probes the relevance of social contract assumptions by reviewing current print advertisement warning practices with a content analysis (CA) of consumer magazines and by testing the effectiveness of label placement strategies with a between-subjects experiment. Validating social contract assumptions, our study shows more positive consumer responses for recall, attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, purchase intention, and responsible advertising when warnings are overtly rather than discreetly placed in print ads. Also, we develop a robust, multi-item responsible advertising scale. Our paper explores the implications and directions for future research from our warning label findings.
Although some research has examined the effects of animation in interactive advertisements, no research has investigated consumer responses to animated effects or cartoon spokespeople in print ads. Distinctiveness theory suggests that an ad can be considered distinctive if it has atypical traits that differentiate it from other marketing stimuli. Distinctiveness theory should be readily applied to advertising research, as advertising agencies and clients continuously strive to make their advertisements different, noticeable, and memorable to consumers. Our research applies distinctiveness theory to a creative caricature or cartoon spokesperson in print ads in a between-subjects experiment. Results of the study reveal that compared with a human spokesperson in the same advertisement, the creative use of cartoon spokespeople in print ads leads to more positive consumer advertising outcomes, including attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intention of the advertised brand. The implications for practitioners and directions for future creativity and distinctiveness research are discussed. Downloaded by [Deakin University Library] at 02:44 12 August 2015
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