Advertising Appeals, Moderators, and Impact on Persuasion: A Quantitative Assessment Creates a Hierarchy of Appeals

Jacob Hornik, Chezy Ofir and Matti Rachamim

This investigation attempts to assess quantitatively past studies on advertising-appeal differences and scale them on a common metric.
Hornik, Ofir and Rachamim

MANAGEMENT SLANT

  • The overall correlation between message appeal and consumer response was positive.
  • The study found notable and significant differences among the seven appeals; the effect of sex appeal was the highest, followed by humor and comparative appeals.
  • All else being equal, consumers responded to emotional appeals more favorably than to rational appeals.
  • Television advertising influenced advertisement liking more than magazines, newspapers, and radio in all significant models.
  • More recent studies obtained greater positive attitudes.

Introduction

Recent years have witnessed increased scholarly attention to advertising appeals, including meta-analytic attempts to synthesize results. Previous academic studies, however,...

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