Parents' Presumed Persuasion Knowledge of Children's Advergames: The Influence of Advertising Disclosure Modality and Cognitive Load

ABSTRACT

Research indicates that parents have a limited understanding of advergames. This study examines the effects of advertising disclosures and cognitive load on parents' activation of persuasion knowledge for a children's advergame. While parents exposed to any advertising disclosure reported higher levels of persuasion knowledge, a single-modality disclosure resulted in more persuasion knowledge activation than a dual-modality disclosure. Additionally, parents who experienced more cognitive load during advergame play reported less persuasion knowledge than parents who experienced less cognitive load. In support of and in contrast to extant literature, our findings offer both theoretical and managerial implications.