How affective vs. informative newspaper advertisements bias thoughts and memories

Abstract

<p>Newspaper advertisements can be fine-tuned so that the message execution determines what thoughts readers will have. Two kinds of execution strategies were studied: the informative execution--offering factual data about the product and advertiser--and the affective approach, which includes fewer facts and relies on emotional creative themes and pictorial elements to communicate its message. This experiment found that the affective execution yields better top-of-mind recall of newspaper ads seen the previous day. If the advertiser's intent is to instill memories of the ad, itself, in order to maintain top-of-mind awareness, affective executions should be used. If the intent is to foster thoughts about the product's and seller's attributes, an informative execution works better.</p>