Effects of metaphoric advertising among mainland Chinese consumers

Abstract

An experiment was conducted among mainland Chinese consumers in order to determine the effects of metaphors in illustrations and headlines on advertisement and brand attitudes and behavioural intentions for symbolic and utilitarian products. The results showed that metaphors had differing effects depending on product type and whether they were used in illustrations or the headlines. The use of metaphors in headlines for symbolic products generally resulted in less favourable attitudes and behavioural intentions than non-metaphoric headlines. However, the use of a non-metaphoric headline with a metaphoric illustration resulted in the most favourable attitudes and behavioural intentions, while the use of metaphors in both advertisement elements was the least effective. In contrast, metaphoric headlines for utilitarian products enhanced attitudes and behavioural intentions more than non-metaphoric headlines. No superiority of metaphoric illustrations was observed. © 2002 Taylor & Francis Ltd.