Wisdom Appeals in UK Financial Services Advertising

Abstract

This paper reports on a study of mathematical images in UK press advertising, and in particular, on the use of wisdom appeals as expressed via such images in advertisements for financial services. Over 1,500 editions of nine newspapers were monitored for advertisements containing mathematical images. Content analysis was applied to produce an account of the use of mathematical images in advertising specifically for financial services. The findings indicate noteworthy differences in the use of mathematical images among different types of newspapers. This analysis provides insights into how advertisers use mathematical representations to create more “scientific” and trustworthy images of their brands.

KEYWORDS:

• financial service
• mathematical images
• press advertising
• UK, wisdom appeals