Advertising Creative

Find the latest and most impactful research on advertising creative here. All the research listed comes from the ARF or one of its subsidiaries: The Journal of Advertising Research (JAR), the Marketing Science Institute (MSI) or the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM). Feel free to bookmark this page, as it will be updated periodically.

Using “Containing Language” Effectively Boosts Price Communications Effectiveness

  • JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH

This study explores the impact of using "containing language" in advertisements on perceived offer fairness and consumer behavior. Identifying useful phrases like "That's it!" and "Period!" can reduce perceived price complexity and enhance perceived offer fairness, leading to higher purchase intentions, the researchers conclude. These findings suggest that marketers can use such language to communicate prices more effectively and responsibly.

The study involved multiple experiments and a large-scale field study, demonstrating that containing language can positively influence consumer perceptions and responses. The research provides valuable insights for marketing practitioners on how to design advertisements that improve consumer trust and engagement.

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How Virtual Mirrors Influence Attitudes about Beauty Products

  • Journal of Advertising Research

Augmented reality holds much promise for advertising. However, little research has investigated the impact of it or virtual mirrors in advertising. This study, recently published in the Journal of Advertising Research, focuses on how self-referencing, self-awareness, self-focused attention and self–brand relationships affect consumer attitudes and purchase intentions within this new virtual frontier. The research highlights the potential of augmented reality to enhance consumer engagement and satisfaction by allowing users to visualize products on themselves in real-time.

The authors conducted a laboratory experiment with university students to investigate the effects of viewing perspectives, types of endorsements and the use of beauty filters in virtual mirrors. The findings suggest that while virtual mirrors can enhance product attitudes, they do not significantly influence purchase intentions. The study provides valuable insights for marketers on tailoring augmented reality advertising strategies to different cultural contexts.

More analysis and the full study is available to ARF members.

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Racial Minority Representation Increases Advertising Effectiveness in Mortgage Markets

Explore the impact of racial minority representation in TV advertisements on consumer choices in the mortgage market in this new MSI working paper. The study employed a double machine learning model to control for high-dimensional video and text features, ensuring robust estimates. Its findings reveal that higher minority presence can significantly increase TV advertising effectiveness.

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Generative AI Can Make Ad Creative Better Than Humans Alone

Have we reached the John Henry moment in ad creative where the machine can outperform a human in creating visuals for ads? Not quite. Generative AI does have a place in creative, however. This Marketing Science Institute (MSI) working paper found that GenAI when trained on ads which were rated the most effective by consumers can create ad visuals and text that outperform the originals in KPIs related to the purchase funnel and brand associations. Yet, the human element has not been cut out just yet. In fact, it might be pivotal to the process. The human AI combo saved time and effort and created pleasing visuals while maintaining a brand’s distinctive positioning.

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Retail Media Networks, Generative AI Top JAR’s Industry-Informed Research Priorities

  • JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH

Retail media networks, generative AI across creative, market research and trust, ad effectiveness and attention: These are among the topics highlighted on the Journal of Advertising Research’s list of 2024 research priorities. The list is a result of one-on-one interviews with advertising professionals by Editor-in-Chief Colin Campbell, who asked: "What are your biggest needs and challenges?"

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Health, Charity and Green Messaging Highlighted in JAR Prosocial-Themed Issue

  • JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH

A JAR 2022 call for papers on prosocial advertising generated a deluge of submissions aimed at helping advertisers use more effective means of communicating in ways that benefit society. The result is the newly published March issue focused on messaging strategies that help consumers make informed decisions on health, the environment and charity.

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