Consumer Attitudes Toward Human-Like Avatars in Advertisements: The Effect of Category Knowledge and Imagery

ABSTRACT

Despite the importance and the growing use of avatars in online and offline advertising, investigations on the effectiveness of avatar-based advertising remains scant. This article attempts to narrow this gap by examining several factors that influence consumers’ evaluations of human-like avatar-based ads. Based on mental schema theory, the authors theorize that avatars elicit categorization tension, a feeling of incongruence between avatar and expected human features. This tension is reflected in negative attitudes toward the ad and low purchase intention. Two experiments supported these contentions and demonstrated how product category knowledge and imagery moderate these effects. This investigation contributes to theory by employing a mental schema framework to explain and predict how and when consumers form positive evaluations of human-like avatar-based ads. The research findings also offer several recommendations for advertising professionals. The findings suggest that human-like avatars are more likely to generate negative evaluations among novice or less knowledgeable consumers. To minimize this effect, advertisers can encourage consumers to imagine the consumption experience.

KEY WORDS AND PHRASES:

• Avatars
• categorization tension
• mental schema
• online advertising
• online imagery
• product category knowledge

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bashar S. Gammoh

BASHAR S. GAMMOH ([email protected]; corresponding author) is an associate professor of marketing at the College of Business and Innovation, University of Toledo. He holds a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. His research focuses on marketing strategy and brand management. His work has appeared in International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Psychology and Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, among other venues.

Fernando R. Jiménez

FERNANDO R. JIMÉNEZ ([email protected]) is an associate professor in the Department of Marketing and Management, The University of Texas at El Paso. He holds a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. His research interests include product/brand evaluations, research methodology, and international marketing. His work has appeared in Journal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Interactive Marketing, among others.

Rand Wergin

RAND WERGIN ([email protected]) is an associate professor in the Department of Marketing and Management, University of South Dakota. He holds a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University. His research interests include consumer behavior, public policy, and pedagogical techniques. His work has appeared in Journal of Learning in Higher Education and International Journal of the Academic Business World.