The power of creative advertising: creative ads impair recall and attitudes toward other ads

Abstract

The purpose of the current research is to examine the effect of repetition upon recall and attitudes when a list of ads includes (vs. does not include) creative ads. We found significant context effects, as the presence of creative ads in a list decreased recall of, and attitudes towards, regular ads. The effects of repetition upon recall for regular ads decreased by 30% when those ads were shown alongside creative ads. When creative (vs. regular) ads were repeated, recall for non-repeated regular ads dropped by 70%. Furthermore, the current research found that regular ads were judged less favorably when a list of ads included creative ads. Overall, ad attitudes for the same regular ads were 10% lower when shown in the presence of creative ads. In order to avoid such impairment effects, the current research demonstrates why advertisers need to develop creative advertising.

Keywords:

• Creative advertising
• brand recall
• attitude toward the ad
• interference
• contrast effect

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hyun Seung Jin

Hyun Seung “HS” Jin is an Associate Professor at QUT Business School in Australia. His research interests include consumer memory, pro-social behavior, artificial intelligence, social robots, and creativity.

Gayle Kerr

Gayle Kerr is a Professor in Advertising, IMC and Digital at the QUT Business School in Australia. Her key research areas are creativity, consumer empowerment, advertising self-regulation, advertising avoidance and engagement and IMC. Her research informs both her leading Australian textbook and her teaching, which has been acknowledged by the highest national and international awards.

Jaebeom Suh

Jaebeom Suh is an Associate Professor at Kansas State University in the USA. His works have been published in the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Service Research, International Marketing Review, Journal of Brand Management, and others.

Hyoje Jay Kim

Hyoje Jay Kim is a Lecturer at University of Strathclyde in UK. His research examines consumer behaviour and decision-making.

Ben Sheehan

Ben Sheehan is a PhD candidate at the QUT Business School in Australia. Prior to joining academia, Ben held senior marketing positions with a number of Australian and American firms. His research interests include consumer psychology and choice.