Employing incongruency as a form of communication-relevant distraction to enhance attitude change in an advertising context

Abstract

Rarely are messages devoid of visual information. Yet, theoretical explanations for the effect of visual elements on persuasion is limited. Marketers have shown that incongruent visual elements in advertisements can affect memory outcomes. This study bridged communication and consumer behavior research to develop a theoretical framework to explain the affect of incongruent visual elements on (1) attitude toward the ad, and (2) purchase intention. The results of this study provided limited support for the proposed framework. Findings indicated that relevant pictorials will yield more positive evaluations and purchase intentions than irrelevant pictorials. Expected pictorials were also found to impact evaluations. Several moderating variables are speculated to explain the impact of visual elements in an advertising context.