EFFECTS OF ANIMATION ON OFFENSIVE PRODUCT ADVERTISING

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of animation in offensive product advertising. An experiment was conducted to collect consumer responses toward animated and static ads of offensive and non-offensive products. The results revealed an interaction between ad design and offensive product. Specifically, when used in offensive product advertisements, animated ads were not effective for consumer attention, but yielded positive response in terms of attitude toward product. For theoretical contribution, the findings support that information processing model (IPM) is accurate in predicting consumer cognitive response toward cartoon ads, whereas U&G, arousal, and distinctive theory is more accurate in predicting consumer affective response. In practical, these findings can also be used to guide ad designers and marketers in determining the ad designs that are suitable for offensive products.