The Relationship between Consumer Sentiment towards Advertising and Ad Credibility, Ad Likeability, and Attention to Ads: The Case with Visual Metaphors

Abstract

Popularity of ads with visual metaphors are on the rise. The present study examined the relationship between consumer sentiment towards advertising and ad credibility, ad likeability, and attention towards ads when ads contain visual metaphors. Specifically, this study tested ads which are “A is like B’” (comparison for similarity) and replacement type (only either source or the target is present while the other is absent) metaphors. Sixty-four students from a regional university in the mid-west completed surveys. Our study results indicate that when sentiment towards advertising is high, consumers find ads more credible and pay more attention to ads. However, sentiment towards advertising is not related to ad likeability. This paper concludes with implications for practitioners, including in social media advertising.