Author:

Keywords:

advertising, color, elaboration likelihood

Abstract:

Just like other design cues, color can increase the appeal of advertisements but three studies show the competitive disadvantage of using color under specific circumstances. In study 1, colored product communications outperformed black-and-white presentations in peripheral processing, but the latter performed better in central processing. In study 2a and 2b, participants had higher relative preference for the product with strong arguments, but the extent to which this was true depended on the processing type and the presentation type. Ironically, the preference for the product with strong arguments disappeared when full color presentations were provided in a central processing state.