Openness in Metaphorical and Straightforward Advertisements: Appreciation Effects

Abstract

Abstract Openness of visual metaphors in advertising stimulates the elicitation of consumers' elaborative thoughts. This effect has not been investigated with respect to the openness of straightforward advertisements. In this study, metaphorical and straightforward advertisements were created using identical visuals in different degrees of openness. In a pretest, more openness elicited more weak implicatures, and metaphors appeared to be less comprehensible than straightforward advertisements. An experiment using the same materials showed that openness interacted with rhetorical figures. Open and straightforward advertisements were appreciated more than either open or closed metaphors. Education and need for cognition moderated the appreciation effects of straightforward advertisements, and gender moderated appreciation and comprehension effects of metaphors.