Chapter - II

LITERATURE REVIEW

34
 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

The present study is a natural progression and extends the contours of

earlier studies relating literature to advertising. This study is an attempt to

explore the typ e of impact components of literature viz. rhetorical figures; poetic

elements, dramatic elements and archetypal symbols create in the visual media

advertising.

In order to be effective an ad should be effective in communication . In

this context, it would be worthwhile to have an overview of the various theories

of advertising and advertising communication . The ultimate aim of any

advertising communication is to influence the consumer and consumer behaviour

. Many models are also available to interpret, u nderstand and analyze consumer

behaviour . Many academicians also have studied different aspects of literature

and its linkages to advertising and advertising communication . A substantial

corpus of literature on advertising communication, consumer behaviour and

linkage between “literature” and advertising forms the background for the

present

35
study. This chapter will discuss the search process and review the major studies

related to the topic of study.

2.2 Source of Literature

The researcher made a sys tematic search for relevant literature. In the

first stage the researcher made an exhaustive search on the Internet to locate

the various studies that were conducted on this particular topic and also other

related studies. In the second stage, a focused review of research abstract was

made on the Internet and also by using the CD -ROM service, EBSCO of British

Council . In the third phase, a thorough search of full text articles was done to

have a pedagogical foundation for the study. In this stage, full text databases of

EBSCO and other information service companies like Emerald, Questia and

Proquest were referred. The researcher also used various reputed libraries in

the state for his literature review to refer various books and journals related to

the area of study .

In order to develop a clear conceptual framework for the study the

researcher reviewed a large number of books and articles on advertising,

advertising management, brand management, marketing

36
management, consumer behaviour, marketing resea rch, books and articles on

literature and other related studies in the field. As the purpose of this literature

review is to discuss various models, issues and concepts that are directly related

to the topic of study viz.

‘impact of literature for advertising effectiveness in the visual media’,

the researcher will concentrate his attention on the

following areas of literature:

i. Advertising communication

ii .Media and Advertising

iii .Literature and Advertising

iv .Aesthetics and Advertising

2.3 Advertising Communication

As mentioned in the beginning of this chapter the main thrust of this

study is to explore the impact of literary devices, components and elements on

visual media advertising and that such impact is measured in terms of

communication effectiveness of such literary elements . It would therefore be

appropriate to begin the Review of Literature, first by revisiting some of the

important advertising communication models.

37
 Kotler (2004) has summarized the four popular Response

Hierarchy Models. These are A IDA, HOE model, Innovation - Adoption model

and communication models . In all these models, the effect of advertising

communication happens in three stages - Cognitive, Affective and Co -native. In

the first stage there is attention, awareness or exposure leadi ng to the second

stage of interest, liking and attitude culminating in to purchase behaviour .

Response Hierarchy models are linear, which assumes that the buyer

passes through three stages in a sequence – cognitive, affective and behavioural

stages. Consumers generally spent more time and effort on expensive products

and in case of inexpensive and routine purchases they do not give much thought

and effort. The first one is called ‘high-involvement decision process’ and

the second one is called ‘low-involvement decision process’ (Wells, et. al.

2000) .

The starch model put forward in 1920s mooted the idea that an effective

advertising: Must be “seen”, must be “read’, must be “believed”, must be

“remembered” and must be “ acted upon” (Wilmshurst and Mc Kay, 1999).

‘Hierarchy of Effects theories can be referred as stimulus -response (classical -

conditioning) learning

38
theory . All response hierarchy models of advertising theories are “linear

-sequential” and to be effective (to result in the desired behaviour), any piece of

persuasive communication must carry its audience through a series of stages

each stage being dependent on the success of the previous stage” (opera

citato).

Mathur (2005) views advertising communication as a chain reaction

consisting of various steps in a sequential manner that of creating awareness,

comprehension, acceptance of the product, belief, purchase action, use and

repeat purchase.

Vakratsas et. al, (1999), by reviewing two hundred and fifty journal

articles and books gives certain insights about how advertising affects the

consumer. They suggest that the hierarchy of effects is deeply flawed and

propose that advertising effects should be studied in a space with affect,

cognition and experience as the three dimensions that is determined by the

context, which reflects goal diversity of advertising, product category,

competition and other aspects of mix, stage of PLC and target market. They cite

the latest developments in neuroscience research pointing out that the brain

processes information in a parallel fashion and that consumer engage in

cognition and affect simultaneously and

39
interactively . As there is parallel processing of information and stage -by-stage

information processing cannot take place.

Weilbacher, (2003) reiterates the same argument stating that the

behavioural model of advertising (S-R Model) is not realistic and cannot be

accepted, as consumers process all incoming information, including advertising in

a very complex yet instantaneous manner and that past experience with the

brand will also have to be reckoned for assessing the effects of advertising.

The DAGMAR (Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising

Results) Model by Russel Colley says that all commercial communications with an

objective of sale must take a prospect through four levels of understanding:

“The prospect must first be aware of the existence of a brand and company. He

must have a comprehension of what the product is and what it will do for him .

He must arrive at a mental suspicion and conviction to buy the product. Finally

he must stir himself to action” (Wilmshurst and Mckay, 1999).

Hall (2002), while discussing various models of consumer response to

advertising states that the weakness of the earlier

40
hierarchical models is the “assumption that cognition plays a primary role in

consumer response.” According to him “rational cognitive processes are not the

primary drivers of purchase behaviour through which advertising operates .” In

place of Cognition->Affect -> Behaviour model, he has suggested a consumer

response model to advertising that maps a process founded in three key

elements – Perception, Experience and Memory. He emphasizes the primacy of

emotions and feelings in designing a consumer response model relating to

advertising. He asserts that consumer response is a biological process and that

his model conforms to the tenets of neuroscience.

Stern (1994) suggested another communication model for advertising by

drawing a parallel wit h crafted text rather than with every day speech. This

model expanded the traditional communication triad i.e; Sender, Message,

Addressee proposed by information theorists by inscribing advertisers,

promotional text and consumers as multidimensional partic ipants in a complex

interactive process .

Carbone (2003) cites modern neurological research and contends that

“people don’t think and draw conclusions in linear, hierarchical ways or in

exclusively conscious ways” and they glean

41
cues and bits of information from all the senses, above and below awareness, to

form a composite experiential impression that becomes a basis for preference,

loyalty and advocacy”.

2.4 Media and Advertising

Hirschman and Craig (1997) in their study on the media proposed that

consumer’s relationships to non-advertising forms of mass media are an essential

aspect of the perceived meanings they derive from advertisements and on the

basis of similar studies they state that consumers often process advertisements

for meaning rather than information and that advertisements can be experienced

as aesthetic events just like other media products. They also observe that media

and advertising have a symbiotic relation in which media enhance the

effectiveness of some advertising by portraying certain product/brand

assortments as more desirable than others. Their main observation is that by “

singing in harmony with the prevailing chorus of mass media texts, advertising

may become more potent as a conveyor of consumption preferences”.

To be effective Advertising, should persuade the audience to interpret the

advertising message in the manner intended by the sponsor (Ramaswamy,

2002). Such interpretation depends upon the knowledge resources of the viewer

(Bulmer and Oliver, 2004a). Their study pertains to visually complex advertising

and the variations in consumer interpretations due to cultural factors. According

42
to them, “ the multiple bodies of knowledge that viewers draw on to interpret

visuals in advertising are the grounded language, literature and cultural traditions

including tacit knowledge, myths, narrative structure, consumption practices and

advertising genres as well as an understanding of cultural texts, products and

brands”. Their research findings concluded that viewers interpret visuals in

advertising based on resources that are “linked to literary and cultural traditions

that are significantly different for different cultural groups”.

2.5 Literature and Advertising

Studies relating to impact of literature on advertising a nd

advertising effectiveness can be themes, reviewed under five different

which are listed below:

1. Rhetorical devices and advertising.

2. Elements of literary form and advertising - Poetic

elements and Dramatic elements.

3. Literary criticism and advertising.

4. Language and advertising.

5. Emotions and advertising.

43
2.6 Rhetorical Devices and Advertising

Rhetorical devices, which are artful deviations that put a twist on the

familiar, are frequently found in advertisements and the purpose of

advertisements is not only to inform but also to persuade (Tom and Eves, 1999).

In their study comparing advertisements, which use rhetorical devices and which

do not use rhetorical devices, they have found that advertisements using

rhetorical devices are more effective in communication, superior on recall and

superior on persuasion. The weakness of their study is that what types of

products were advertised and the effects of different types of rhetorical devices

that are effective in different contexts have not been dealt with in their study .

Mc Quarrie and Mick (1996) also reiterate this point that advertisements using

rhetorical devices get more preference and better memorability .

Rhetorical handbooks distinguish more than two hundred different figures

of rhetoric (Klarer, 1998).

Advertising is persuasive communication . How to attract the consumer

towards a product or service is a major problem for

marketers and advertisers. Mc Guire (2000) states that in a

44
consumerist age, persuasion should be a central topic of study in consumer

research and that the art of persuasive communication of using figurative

language is ignored in our age . According to him this neglect can be corrected

by us by ‘standing on the shoulders of ancients’ and by nurturing t he rhetorical

tradition .

Mc Quarrie and Mick, (1999) on the basis of their empirical research in the

light of rhetorical theory and cultural competency theory by using text

interpretations, experiments and reader - response interviews examined the

impact of visual rhetorical figures in advertising. They found that rhyme,

antitheses, metaphor and pun lead to a more favourable attitude towards the

advertisements . The effects were less for visual tropes (metaphor and pun) and

in case of individuals with les s cultural competency .

In order to confirm their earlier empirical research regarding effectiveness

of rhetorical figures, McQuarrie and Mick (2003) designed a thirty two -page

magazine of interest to audience containing advertisements . This was

administer ed to the audience and by manipulating directed processing and

incidental exposures to the ads, an effort was made by them to study the effect

of rhetorical figures . Earlier empirical research directed subjects to

45
process the ads and examined either visua l or verbal rhetoric but not both . Mc

Quarrie and Mick (2003) study showed that the ads with rhetorical figures were

recalled more often and liked better. Visual figures are more effective regardless

of processing condition whereas verbal figures perform ed better as and when

subjects were directed to process the ads .

Stern (1990) examined the ‘art’ in advertising by a micro - level focus on a

single advertisement to analyse ‘metaphor’ in terms of Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’ ,

classifying metaphor in to three – single, extended and open -ended. She

underlines the fact that the relationship of metaphorical efforts to consumer

responses has not yet been clearly translated from humanistic criticism to the

social sciences nor has it been extensively considered in term s of what the

consumer enjoys or finds entertaining. She maintains that advertisements as

artistic creations opens up research possibilities by offering humanities theory as

a source of insights for social science applications and beauty as a quality conve

ntionally thought to be inherent in poetic metaphors and joy as a response may

not be far removed from qualities inherent in some advertisements and

consumer responses to them.

46
 Rhetoric pertains to the way persuasion is attempted in a

discourse . Rhetorical strategy also comprises specific stylistic devices (like

metaphor rhyme, etc) that are used to attract the attention of consumers,

provide pleasure and evoke elaboration of the message (Mc Quarrie and Mick,

1996). Barbara and Mc Quarrie (2002) conducted two studies of rhetorical style

in US Magazine advertisements for the period from 1954 – 1999. Their

qualitative content assessment shows that rhetorical figures were prevalent

throughout the period and that tropes like pun, metaphor and irony increased in

incidence. They also analyzed the trend of how changes in rhetorical style reflect

the mutual adaptation of consumer and advertiser to changes in advertising

environment over this time period.

Stern (1988a) analysed language in services adve rtising by using literary

conventions of imagery and figures of speech through textual analysis of sample

ads using simile, metaphor, symbol, allegory and personification. She underlines

the fact that services advertising need to tangibilise the intangible offering, make

a complex product clear to the consumer and create brand identity and ‘services

advertising in particular can benefit from greater understanding of poetic and

literary convention’. According to her,

47
“poetic theory represents a rich territor y which advertising creators can mine for

effective and exciting imagistic language uses”.

Barbara (1997) conducted a qualitative study of ads containing figures of

rhetoric on how consumer infers advertising messages . Six ads containing

pictorial metaph ors were administered to the participants. This study shows that

consumer interpretation match the intentions of the ad producers . Responses

from participants suggested that consumers use cultural, product and advertising

knowledge to infer meaning from advertising images.

Bulmer and Oliver (2004b) observe that advertising is to be

conceptualized as a form of rhetoric and advertisers use effective devices to

inform, remind the target market and that the existence of rhetoric in visuals has

not been ful ly accepted. They feel that visuals are more complex than text/

language and strongly contribute to the meaning of advertising.

Stern (1988b) examined the medieval literary tradition of allego ry and

related it to contemporary advertising. Allegory is characterized by the use of

metaphor, personification and moral conflict. This tradition is the basis of

advertisements that use fear

48
to convey didactic instruction to mass audience . In the above study she

described the use of allegory in advertisin g strategy in terms of message

appeal, product benefits, target audience and media design . She has suggested

five areas for future research – content analysis of allegorical advertisements,

cross cultural implications, fear and guilt appeals, taxonomy of personifications

as presenters and effects of metaphors and symbols on advertising recall and

comprehension .

Frye (1973) considers literature as one technique of communication and

defines ‘persuasive rhetoric as applied literature or the use of liter ary art to

reinforce the power of argument’. Solomon (2003) compares marketers to story

tellers like creative artists by tangibilising the intangibles and for this they use

various literary devices like metaphor, personification, allegory and resonance .

One of the functions of advertising is to increase brand awareness and

creative copywriters use various techniques for this . Tina, et al (2005) did a

study on the relation between linguistic characteristics of brand names and

brand name memory . According to them achieving brand awareness is often

determined by the

49
memorability of the brand name. They cite research evidence in

psycholinguistics, which suggest that features of the brand name themselves

might also contribute to the memorability, re call and recognition . Use of

linguistic devices helps in memory . Linguistic features influence memorability

through their ability to convey meaningfulness and through their ability to create

distinctiveness .

Zaltman (2003) points out that researchers from various disciplines have

developed numerous devices for mining the unconscious and using those

revelations to create customer value and one such technique involves

metaphors. His Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) is an attempt in

this dir ection. By inviting consumers to use metaphors as they talk about a

product or service researchers bring consumers’ unconscious thoughts and

feelings to a level of awareness where both parties can explore them more

openly .

Stern (1991a) analyzed the clas sical literary technique of rhetorical irony

and related it to contemporary advertising. Irony is characterized by a blend of

pleasure and persuasion in messages that “teach by delight”. She explored the

use of rhetorical irony for advertising strategy in terms of message appeal,

product benefits,

50
large audience and media selection. She suggested four areas for future

research comprising humour taxonomy, miscomprehended messages,

unintentional cross -cultural ironies and intentionally deceptive advertising.

Davis and Chun (2003) in their research on the use of metaphor have

suggested a typology for the use of metaphor in understanding the brand

concept. The three root metaphors identified by them are – brand as

differentiating mark, brand as person and brand as an asset. They have derived

a life stage model to explain how the role and use of individual metaphor evolves

over their life consisting of a creation stage, dormant stage, life stage when the

metaphor is active and a death stage when the metaphor becomes a term .

Stern (1991b) analysed the meaning of a television commercial for Procter

& Gambles GAIN detergent from a literary perspective, asking probing questions

about its construction, type and the responses it is likely to get. Her analysis

starts with the identification of the ad’s genre – i .e; it is a miniature soap opera

and she proceeds to examine the subject matter, strategy, style and emotional

affects associated with the genre . Functions of the genre elements are also

analysed along with cons umer responses to the genre .

51
2.7 Elements of Literary (Genres) Forms and Advertising

‘Genre’ is a term taken from the French and it is used in literary criticism to

signify a literary species or as we now often say, a ‘literary form’. The most

common genres are tragedy, comedy, epic, satire, lyric, novel, essay and

biography (Abrahams, 2003). Genre is a mode of categorization . A “genre”

denotes a set of shared characteristics, which allows for the grouping together of

different forms of artistic expression or cultural production (Edgar and Sedgwick,

2004) and they cite ‘soap operas’, ‘documentaries’, or ‘situation comedies’ as

examples of TV Genres .

The TV commercial is generally visualized as an unfolding

story script. Form related exe cution style, creative message strategy, format

categories and dramatic determinants are structural elements of a commercial’s

shape that interact with content to determine its story type . The overall format

of a commercial has been systematically conside red within a ‘literary’

framework by many academics (Stern, 1989, 1991a, Stern and Gallagher, 1991).

Stern and Gallagher (1991), consider five “literary’ dimensions which are relevant

to advertising:

52
 These are:

1. Theme

2. Plot or action

3. Character or speaker

4. Tone

5. Language

These five dimensions can be related to three main literary forms

(genres) in the literature taxonomy, which are summarized in Table . No. 2 .1 .

Table No. 2.1 : Literary Dimensions and Advertising Forms (Proposed by

Stern and Gallagher (1991)
Literary Theme Plot Character Tone Language
form
Lyric Personal: Static: Realistic: Subjective: Appreciation
Mood, Spatial, “me” – intimate of beauty,
Feelings, Descriptive centred revelation personal
emotional to expression,
state audience love
Ballad Personal: Narrative: Realistic: Objective: Sensuality,
Sex, single story, “common impartial fear and
violence, simple man” teller tale guilt,
revenge chronological survival
progression
Epic Social: Cyclical: Idealized: Objective: Conformity,
moral, several status - Observant, prestige,
educational stories, oriented reporter of social
lessons complex detail
chronological
simultaneity

53
 Some of the dramatic elements relevant for advertising are plot, character

and characterization, humour, sympathy, emp athy and catharsis. Elements like

Plot, character and characterization are common to both tragedies and comedies

and humour element is quite often seen in comedies and sympathy, empathy

and catharsis are elements of tragedies .

Edson and Stern (2003) examined the differences in consumers’

sympathy and empathy responses to televised drama commercials in a multi

-disciplinary framework . Valid and reliable measurement instruments were

developed by them to test relationships between sympathy and empathy as re

sponses to

classical and vignette advertising dramas. Results of two experiments indicate

that sympathy responses mediate the effect of a drama advertisement’s form on

empathy responses with both sympathy and empathy enhancing positive

attitudes to an advertisement.

Deighton, et.al (1989) are of the opinion that Television advertisements

can be classified as either arguments or dramas or hybrids of these forms.

According to them form dimension influences how advertisements are processed.

Arguments appe al

54
objectively and are processed empathetically . In their study containing forty test

advertisements (Television Commercials) classified on dramatization scale which

were administered to 1215 people and measures of evaluative and empathic

processing were taken. The measures are found differently weighted for

arguments and dramas, supporting the contention that form influences

processing.

Chunawalla (1995) observes that poetic elements, especially lyrical

quality of an advertisement helps in memoriz ation of messages in an ad and

that a “ jingle with its repeat phrases has a far higher recall value than the

visuals” and asserts that the signature tunes of a commercial immediately

conjure up their products.

Hayakawa, (1974) has made a comparison bet ween poetry and Ad texts .

According to him both make use of rhyme, rhythm and words with connotative

value; both seek overtones of meaning that haunts our mind and other

similarities are the use of Ambiguity, Imagination and Role – Playing and that he

feels that life is an imitation of Art and that advertising is a creative art.

55
 Stern (1996a) analysed the fundamental attributes of a comedy from a

drama perspective and used Bergson’s theory of laughter as the basis for

mapping comedic types: verbal /physi cal and romantic/satiric. She used

examples from the television and radio commercials to demonstrate how the

classification scheme works in the media context. The construct of comedy in

electronic advertisements is also defined and also the responses assoc iated with

each type of comedy.

Goodwin (1996) observes that the metaphor of factory and drama

predominate in the services literature . In his view metaphors are used to

transfer information from the familiar to the unfamiliar and they have cognitive

sign ificance and the use of factory or drama metaphor reflects an implicit model

of services and to account the human qualities of service inputs .

Johar, et.al (2001) in their empirical study did a research to unravel the

creative process of creative teams in an advertising agency through interpretive

analyses by giving the teams a strategic brief to design a layout for a print ad for

a new beverage product. Their study found that teams access culturally available

plot patterns but in different ways. Four of the five teams chose to

56
pursue a single mythic structure . The researchers adopted the taxonomy

proposed by Northrop Frye (1973) in his Anatomy of Criticism dividing literature

in to four pre generic categories: Comedy, Tragedy, Romance and Irony/Satire,

a rguing that “the basic plot patterns describe different types of causality and

chronological progression and that the how of narration sustains different values.

Comedy ends in joy and its correspondent value is happiness; Tragedy ends in

sadness and its v alue is wisdom; Romance ends in nostalgia and its value is

ideal peace or beauty; and Irony ends in surprise and its value is excitement”.

They observe that Frye’s theory’s “explanatory power lies in the correspondence

of each mythos to an aspect of the ce ntral cultural mono myth based on the

natural cycle of birth (comedy) growth(romance) death(tragedy) rebirth(irony)

and states that this cycle characterizes natures’ seasons, the human life cycle,

the product diffusion process and narrative structures foun d in cultural

productions from prehistoric myths to post -modern advertising”.

Holbrook (1995) advocates the need for more lyricism in consumer

research - “the need to create a literature that sounds less matter - of – fact and

more expressive, less humdr um and more songlike”. He thinks that Consumer

Research should better reflect

57
the importance of feelings in its written form or style . He favours the production

of texts that appear less ‘scientistic’ and more expressive .

Story lines are the backbone of many media programmes. Lull (1999)

observes that narratives are basic to culture . In his view stories symbolize

cultural values, provide cultural continuity, are pleasurable and help people make

sense of their environments. It provokes imagination, connects to emotion and

stimulates fantasies . Readers, listeners and viewers enjoy speculating about the

outcome of stories particularly soap operas .

2.8 Musicality

Michelle (2001) in her research examined recall for advertising messages

that are presented via two musical formats: either via an instrumental version of

a popular song or via a vocal version . For individuals who are familiar with the

song, recall of the message is greater when the instrumental of the song

appears than when a vocal version of the song appears and there is greater

likelihood that familiar consumers will sing along with the

58
instrumental version and thus generate the lyrics that carry the message. In her

view lyrics cause the message to be more memorable than simply listeni ng to

lyrics . For individuals who are not familiar with the song, recall of the message

implied by the lyrics is greater when a vocal version appears . Unfamiliar

consumers, who cannot sing along with the song and generate the lyrics, require

lyrics to be presented in order to derive the intended message.

Lane and Russel (2000) while discussing the creative essentials of

advertising emphasizes that “music can be very powerful in catching the

listeners’ attention and evoking feelings” and it can be called an “universal

language”. According to them “different kinds of music appeal to different

emotions” and “jingles are a popular means of making a slogan memorable”.

Scott (1990) by reviewing the literature on music in advertising

summarises that “research in this area varies within a narrow range from affect

-mediated classical conditioning to automatic mood manipulation” and that “all

postulate affect - oriented , non -semantic, automatic responses to musical

stimuli”. According to her “music is meaningful , language -like and calls for

59
both interpretive and empirical research as ways of exploring a richer, potentially

more explanatory concept” and “music performs a variety of functions in its

contribution to the overall rhetorical task of advertising”.

Fowles (1996) underlines that the primary appeal of popular culture is the

genre of popular music and that it has the ability to stimulate extraordinary

varied emotional feelings like passion, affection, devotion, patriotism,

aggression, rage, calm, nostalgi a, fear, warmth, exhibition, happiness, sadness,

pride, hope, delight and so on and that the sounds and tempos of the music

penetrate the mind’s depth in to the subconscious strata.

2.9 Imagery

MacInnis and Price (1987) observe that mental image ry is receiving

increased attention in consumer behaviour theory and research . They suggest

that imagery is likely to create a positive impact on incidental learning and that it

is important in consumer contexts, as much of consumer learning takes place in

cidentally. They are also of the opinion that imagery affects purchase

60
intentions and timing of purchases and that imagery offers a positive sensory

and emotional experience to the consumer.

Scott (1994a) proposed a new theoretical framework fo r the study of

images in advertising. In her analysis advertising images are treated as a

sophisticated form of visual rhetoric.

La Barbara, et.al (1998) stress that individual psychological differences

use to be reckoned for customizing advertising messages. They examined an

“approach to segmenting consumers according to their personality -type

preferences for processing information”. Their study shows that “personality

-type also can serve as a classification system for visual imagery used in

advertising” and that empirical findings demonstrate that by utilizing visuals that

are consistent with consumers’ personality -type processing styles,

advertisements can have greater appeal and generate higher purchase intentions

for a variety of products .

Meenaghan (1995) focuses on the shifting attention of consumers from

the functional benefits of products to its symbolic value and cites certain reasons

for the increasing importance of image building in marketing and states that in

marketing more

61
emphasis is now been given to the behavioural aspects of consumer decision

making.

2.10 Narratives

Baumgartner (2002) argues that narratives are a basic mode of thought

through which people understand the world in general and themselves in

particular and that many a uthors from different disciplines subscribe to this

view. Consumer researchers have started investigating narratives in order to

gain insights in to the role of consumption in self -construction and that

structural analysis of narratives will show in greate r detail how consumers use

consumption for self -creation . Individuals are to be seen as “goal - striving and

narrative entities engaged in consumption in the broadest sense”.

Thompson (1997) has described a hermeneutically grounded

interpretive framework fo r deriving market -relevant insights from the “texts” of

consumer stories and has given theoretical and philosophical foundation for this.

Through this framework, he has tried to interpret stories of consumption

62
experiences and this framework can be applied to three levels of interpretation –

discussing key patterns of consumption stories of a given consumer, identifying

key patterns of meaning that emerge across consumption stories expressed by

different consumers and deriving a broader conceptual and manag erial

implications from the analysis of consumer narratives.

Ahuvia (2005) studied about possessions and activities that consumers

love and their role in the construction of a coherent identity narrative . He

conducted depth interview s with his respondents whcih showed that “in the face

of social forces pushing toward identity fragmentation, three different strategies

labeled ‘demarcating’, ‘compromising’ and ‘synthesizing’ solutions for creating a

coherent self -narrative” are chosen b y the consumers and that out of the

several objects and consumption activities that occur in consumers’ lives, a few

loved objects and activities play a special role in consumer’s understandings of

who they are as people .

Twitchell (2004), an English Pro fessor reflecting on branding says that

“brand is simply a story attached to a manufactured object” and he cites two

cultural transformations that contributed to the concept of branding – one in the

common acceptance of

63
pathetic fallacy and the second is t he rise of impressionism as a narrative and

pictorial device and he maintains that from a marketing point of view, both

innovations transformed not just how stories got told but how the audience

could actively participate in the consumption of first, ficti ons, and secondly,

material goods” and “these techniques made modern branding not just possible

but inevitable”. He also points out that “in the Romantic era, Imagination got

precedence over Reason and we are in search of meanings desperately and

when thi ngs cannot supply it, we install meaning in to it and that is the reason

why branding (and Romantic poetry) works”.

Kapferer (2003) also underlines this point of deriving meaning out of

brands by saying that “products are mute: the brand is what gives them

meaning and purpose, telling us how a product should be read. A brand is both,

a prism and magnifying glass through which products can be decoded”.

Delgadillo and Escalas (2004) have explored ‘word -of -mouth’ (WOM)

from the perspective of a narrative o r story. Their study provided empirical

evidence that consumer WOM communications are often structured as a

narrative.

64
 Mulvey and Stern (2004) undertook a study of invisible narrators in

advertising based on a theoretical framework drawn from narratological literary

theory and advertising persuasion theory . Their findings suggest that

consumers draw from personal experiences and persuasion knowledge to

imagine characteristics of invisible narrators and that consumers construct a

narrator’s attributes even when the narrator is unseen and develop attitudes to

the ad in terms of attitudes of the narrator .

Alan and Victoria (1994) have suggested “a narrative approach to Ad

evaluation for discerning potentially unethical aspects of advertisements and

according to them three general questions arise from the narrative paradigm .

These are: “Does the story/Ad possess narrative probability? Does the story/Ad

possess narrative fidelity? What are the potential consequences of the story/Ad

based on its narrative evaluation? They think that narrative approach to the

evaluation of ad. messages can reveal inconsistencies between the ad and the

intended audience before damaging effects of inappropriate campaigns occur .

65
2.11 Humour

Elpers et.al (2004) perfor med a Moment-to-Moment (MTM) analysis of

humour in television advertising. They investigated effects of MTM responses on

overall humour and showed that higher overall humour scores were related to a

more positive attitude toward the ad.

Scott (1991) views ads as a cultural form, specifically as literary or

dramatic texts and that ads depend on quick characterization, their dramatic

personae often come from the repertory troupe of popular culture . She also

observes that ‘as in stylistics or linguistics in l iterature, the texts that disprove

simple models of meaning in advertising have meanings that are “doubled”, as in

parody, irony, satire, puns and that such forms are becoming frequent in

advertising, as an outgrowth of postmodern style’’.

Schiffman and Kanuck (2000) on summarizing a review of the impact of

Humour on advertising state that Humour attracts attention , enhances liking,

product relevant humour is superior, audience demographic factors(eg: gender,

ethnicity, age) affect the

66
response to humorous advertising appeals . According to them, Humour is

effective with existing products than with new products and that humour is more

appropriate for low -involvement products and feeling oriented products than for

high -involvement products.

2.12 Literary Criticism and Advertising

Marketing researchers have used the techniques of Deconstruction (Stern

1996b) to analyse and study advertisements just like literary texts . The method

consists of three steps – identifying the textual elements (literary a ttributes)

construction of meaning (the whole, sum of parts) and deconstruction ( the

unsaid assumptions that challenge singular meaning ). She proposes that the

addition of deconstruction theory to literary analysis of advertising text

contributes to beh avioural and cultural research on advertising by enabling

researchers to “read” advertisements of contemporary consumer culture .

The source of an advertisement is its presenter . This was analysed by

Stern(1991c) by means of a theoretical framework drawn from literary criticism,

adapting literary theory to explore the

67
presenter of a message . By employing theories of dramaturgy and narratology

she has formulated a trichotomous “points of view” for advertising _ first person

narrator, third person narrator and dramatic character and these are discussed

with advertising examples.

Brown, et.al (1999) on the basis of the literary theories of Mikhail Bakhtin

offered three contrasting gendered readings of a post- modern advertisement for

Mo’t & Chandon Cham pagne. They tried to exemplify in a quasi -carnivalesque

mode of exposition to demonstrate the insights of key concepts of Bakhtin in

relation to gendered readings of advertising texts. Drawing upon earlier studies,

they argue that advertisement text can be read in multiple ways depending on

the interpreter’s personal, cultural and gendered baggage and hence men and

women may respond differently to an ad stimulus. They point out that men read

in a cognitive way toward an informational goal and women read in an affective

way towards an experiential goal and that men are more judgmental and women

are more empathetic.

The literary domain of psychoanalytic criticism deals with dream –logic,

symbol, therapeutic literary mission and fantasies and

68
that of archetypal criticism deals with cultural/ psychological themes in myths,

ritual and folklore (Stern, 1989) and consumer research using psycho analytic

techniques study advertising as consumer fantasy, how consumer projects

himself and identifies with ads . According to her Archetypal approach also

studies emotional appeals to consumer fear and humour responses.

2.13 Archetypes

Companies of the twenty first century may gain competitive advantage by

managing intangible assets of their brands and corporate image (Sreenath,

2002). While summarizing the main theme of Kent Wertime’s book “Building

Brands and Believers”, Sreenath quoting Wertime says that “the success of

branding lies in the ability to choose the right archetypes and maximizing the

dynamics of mythical story telling, which is pivotal in the image economy” and

he adds that Archetypes are the DNA of communication and linking archetypes

instantly with the common psyche of the consumers help break the clutter of the

image economy .

Stern (1988a) used a methodology of poetic explication adopted from

literary criticism to explore the meaning of financial

69
services advertising by taking two advertisements that of Merill Lynch and

Fidelity Brokerage Inc. Her study showed what an advertisement means by lite

rary analysis of figurative language to examine the way a Company creates,

sustains and conveys its ‘Personality’. She further analyses the way, Company

‘Persona’ is conveyed by the figures of speech chosen and the dramatic

experience created in the advert isement’s text. She observes “Ad text functions

as a dramatic monologue revealing the Company soul and attracting the desired

consumer as soul mate”. She views an advertisement like a poem and as a

dramatic imaginative experience, and think that an implied speaker lives in every

text who is responsible for the words .

Scott (1994b) proposed the reader -response theory, which emphasizes

the study of reading over formal textual analysis to assist researchers to study

the process of reading as an essential link between advertising text and

consumer response . She views ads “ as the literature of consumption”.

Aylesworth, et.al (1999) have indicated in their study that subliminal

messages work because they incorporate archetypal imagery and that such

symbols are constant across time and culture

70
and evoke a strong and consistent response at the unconscious level.

Halve, (2005) cites use of ‘Archetypes’ as an interesting

approach “to understanding the way brands can build lasting relationships wi th

customers” based on the Jungian concept of ‘Archetypes’. According to him

Archetypes are part of universal experiences that exist in the sub -conscious

level of the mind in people, which can evoke strong emotional responses from

the depth of their heart and touch people across different socio -cultural

segments. He views archetypes as the essence of all narratives valid across time

and space that are encountered in myths, legends, epics, stories, films and

novels to which any person can relate . He has also short -listed a set of twelve

archetypes that are codified by

Margaret Mark and Carol .S .Pearson in their seminal work - ‘The

Hero and the Outlaw’ consisting of: The Hero, The Outlaw, The Magician, The

Creator, The Ruler, The Regular Guy, The Lover, The Jester, The Care Giver,

The Explorer, The Sage and The Innocent and examples of advertisements

against each one of these archetypes from contemporary Indian advertisements

have also been discussed by him.

71
 Keller (2003) has narrated the case of a medical anthropologist –

Rapaille, G .C, who employs “archetype research technique to uncover hidden

consumer motivations”, believing that “consumers often make purchase

decisions based on factors that they are aware of only subconsciously” and that

“conventional market research typically does not elicit responses that indicate

these factors”.

Ogilvy (1995) quoting Bill Bernbach on changes expected in advertising

in the eighties emphasizes the unchanging basic human nature and stresses that

a communicator should be concerned with the unchanging man, his instincts and

compulsions and through this the advertiser (creative artist) can touch at the

core of the consumers’ being. He underlines the fact that Creative Professionals

with deep insights about the huma n nature and with the great artistry to touch

and move people will succeed. Archetypes are basic to human psyche and as

such it appeals to the unchanging fundamental nature of human psyche and

may help in effective communication .

72
2.14 Nostalgia

Nostalgia is a recurring theme (leit motif) in most of the forms of

literature. Longing for things far away and long ago is an escape mechanism to

avoid the tyranny of the present and ads do use nostalgia sometimes in order to

create a sense of l oss for the “dear departed past” and link the same with the

products advertised. Holbrook and Schindler(1991) observe that nostalgia “must

remain close to the heart and mind of any consumer researcher who maintains

both a scientific interest and a human fondness toward issues connected with

the ‘Dear Departed Past’”.

Stern (1992a) used literary criticism to study ‘nostalgia’ in advertising text

and distinguished two types of nostalgia - historical and personal - that

determine advertising elements of p lot, setting, characters and values inherited

from literary antecedents. Personal and historical nostalgia advertisements are

linked to consumer effects of empathy and idealization of self.

73
2.15 Language and Advertising

FairClough (1995), observes that vie wing language as a social practice

implies that “language is socially and historically situated mode of action in a

dialectical relationship with other facets of the social”, meaning that language is

“socially shaped but is also socially constitutive”.

Krishnaswamy, et.al (2002), indicated that “the language of literature is

not cryptic like the language of science; the language of literature is delphic, (i

.e; obscure, ambiguous, oracular)” and it is “poetic or emotive” and they also

note that “since all literature is in the form of language, there is a strong

connection between literariness and language, but at the same time, it is not

just ‘ordinary’ language, it is ‘language plus’”.

Harris, et. al (1985) in their paper presented at first International

Congress of Applied Psycholinguistics argues that the theory and methodology of

psycholinguistics can offer much for the study of the advertising language

processing. They point out that Psycho-linguistic approach employs the

experimental methodolo gy of cognitive psychology to study the phenomena of

advertising

74
language and Advertising is a piece of information that requires processing at

the perceptual and cognitive levels for evaluation of purchase decision .

According to them Schema refers to kn owledge structures or

frameworks, which organize an individual’s memory of information about people

and events and applies to all forms of information . They refer to Schema theory

which suggests that a person has some kind of schema structure based on past

experiences with person and event related information in terms of which

information is encoded and recalled; One consequence of this structure is that

the individual is likely to go beyond the information available to draw inferences

about people or events that are congruent with previously formed schemas.

Lackley (2005) has observed, “the possibilities for novelty in

advertising communication seem almost limitless” and “it can be seen as a form

of discourse” and even though, “advertising is defined by its conventional forms

and styles, these are constantly changing”. He also observes that advertising

text is polysemic in meanings and “this opens up an interpretive space through

which consumers can engage creatively with the Ad” and it is the audience

75
“who impose particular meanings on a given ad” on the basis of the “cues placed

in the ad by the creative people”.

Johnson (1974) points about the general assumption that every language

has a static semantic structure which serves as a predictive device i n language

use settings and those meanings are derived in communication in such a rule

-governed structure. He adds that language being dynamic and flexible aspects

of language viz. context and figurative language use – makes structural

interpretations of meaning and communication untenable. He cites evidence

from research and concludes that there in no semantic structure per se , but that

structures are created and dissolved in particular language and communication

situations, i.e . that there is structuring but no ubiquitous structure and meaning

is not rule - bound and is intimately tied to the (mental) processes. The

implication of this research for advertising is that the structural models of human

communication are untenable and predicting the meaning or effect of advertising

communication is fraught with problems and meaningful advertising research for

studying communication effect should be based on studying the effects of

communication messages in the contexts in which they are

76
presented by collecting normative data in a specific context for generalization.

Stern and Schroeder (1994) proposed a humanistic approach to

advertising. In their view, linking humanities scholarship to consumer research

will enrich study of advertisements as culturally produced artifacts in enhancing

increased sensitivity to the power of words and pictures in better understanding

the influence of advertising imagery on consumers . Departing from the earlier

tradition of focusing on cognitive responses by manipulating verbal and visual

elements in an advertising stimulus to ascertain their impact on persuasion, they

have used an interpretative methodology to explore the consistent integration of

word/picture Gestalt in print advertisements .

Hirschman, et.al (1998) proposed a discourse model to study the

relationships between consumption practices and consumption texts . They used

discourse theory to show how product meanings are created, negotiated and

altered. They have demonstrated an interpretive method based on the model, u

sing data from Television commercials and television programmes and

documented the influence of historical discourse on contemporary product

meaning.

77
 Stern (1993) employed a ‘feminist framework’ to incorporate the issues of

advertising as gendered text and consumer responses as gendered readings in

to consumer research, from the perspective of post-modern feminist literary

criticism . She analysed two advertising figures – the “Malboro Man” and the

“Dakota Woman” using this method. In her study she presen ted a feminist

perspective on gendered readings - different male and female reading styles

relevant to consumers and advertisements .

Brierly (2002) points out that adjectives are used by advertisers to build

the brand, as it convey mood and emotion and these linguistic elements which

are associated with the brand make the brand rise above being a product. He is

of the opinion that it is adjectives that convey the brand’s value like young,

youthful, soft, strong, warm, traditional and modern etc. According to him

rhetoric in advertisements give maximum impact and it aids memorability .

Geeta and Yorkston (2004) in their study examined a phenomenon known

as ‘sound symbolism’, where the sound of a word conveys meanings . Brand

names are compos ed of individual sounds, specifically called phonemes and

they investigated how this

78
phonetic structure of brand names affects a consumer’s evaluation of products

and their underlying attributes . They demonstrated that consumers use

information they gather from phonemes in brand names to infer product

attributes and to evaluate brands.

Procter (2002) has indicated that knowledge is stored in memory as

‘semantic networks’ and that we make use of specific type of schemas known as

Scripts and Dialects in dea ling with problems and Scripts guide what people do,

think and say and retrieving an appropriate Script from memory allows people to

deal with a situation or a problem .

Chandler (2003) observes that “the ubiquity of tropes in visual as well as

verbal forms can be seen as reflecting our fundamentally relational

understanding of reality” and that “reality is framed within the systems of

analogy”. He is of the opinion that “Figures of speech enable us to see one thing

in terms of another”.

2.16 Emotions and Advertising

Hirschman and Stern (1999) have put forward a model of emotional

response relating to a consumer. They suggest that every

79
consumer has a “personal emotional range”, which can move from extreme

happiness to extreme sadness. They feel that most consumers usually

experience emotions in the middle range, a significant proportion are likely to

experience emotions which lie beyond the middle range . They also point out

referring to various studies that a positive mood enhances the rating of adve

rtisement’s effectiveness, consumers’ information processing ability and recall .

Brown, et.al (1998) conducted a meta -analysis of relationships involving

positive and negative ad -evoked feelings . Their analyses indicate that positive

and negative feeling s have contingently asymmetrical effects on advertising

responses .

Du Plessis (2005) conducted exhaustive advertising research to study

Advertising effectiveness . From the available data base their agency could

understand that the “most memorable adverti sing over the years is based on

emotion as measured by advertising likeability”. But in order to confirm and get

further insights in the light of new evidence in neuroscience their agency

investigated further. Collating the new evidences in neuroscience as put forward

by Professor Damasio, a Professor of Neurology, the agency found that “it is

emotion that governs all our behaviour; driving our

80
unconscious reactions but also determining what becomes conscious”. According

to him, emotion feeds in to, shapes and controls our conscious thought about

brands, products and services. In his view the first task of advertising is to

ensure that it is noticed and to this purpose it has to be designed to attract a

positive emotional response from the audience . The seco nd task is to ensure

that these advertisements are seen and noticed sufficiently often to become

memorable and the third task is to ensure that these advertisements influence

customer buying behaviour.

Sreenath (2005) observes that “both art and a bran d are emotional

expressions meant to meet a desire” and these emotional expressions attain

‘eternity’ when they originate from the depths of the ‘soul’ and such expressions

alone help to touch the ‘chords’ of patrons . For him the process of building such

e xpressions - drawing a picture on canvass (Art) or the ‘mind’ (Brand) is one

and the same .

The impact of affect on memory is an important area of study for

advertising and neuroscience research . Ambler and Burne (1999), developed

four hypotheses as par t of testing a MAC (Memory -> Affect -> Cognition)

model of the intermediate effects

81
of advertising. Their tests show that affect enhances advertising effectiveness.

Research by Williams and Drolet (2005) investigated motivational

influences associated with age on responses to emotional advertisements with

two experiments . Experiment I showed increased liking and recall of emotional

ads among older consumers and that time horizon perspective moderates these

age - related differences . Experiment I I revealed influences of age and time

horizon perspective on responses to different types of emotional ads . Ads

focusing on avoiding negative emotions were linked and recalled more among

older consumers and among young consumers made to have a limited time

horizon perspective. Their research illustrates the importance of considering age

-related differences in information processing due to motivational as well as to

cognitive changes.

Tellis (2004) defines emotion as a state of arousal and observes that

advertisers have to address four important issues - of how, where emotions work

and how to arouse emotions and which particular emotions to arouse . He also

underlines the point that emotion has several advantages over logic, as emotion

requires less

82
effort from the viewer and that picture, music or actions that arouse emotion

require far less cognitive effort on the part of a viewer. According to him

emotional appeals are preferable, if people are involved in the purchase. He lists

drama, story, demonstration , humour and music as the five methods of

arousing emotions.

Auken, (2004), says that to create emotional connection with the

consumer, a brand should gain trust of the consumer and such emotional

connection comes from advertising and positive shared experiences with the

brand over time . In this context, he also refers to Rolf Jensen’s book titled “The

Dream society”, making a “case for a shift from an information society to a

dream society in which imagination and story telling become the primary drivers

of value” and that any brand seeking to create emotional connection should

study underlying human motives .

Lee and Sternthal (1999) studied the effect of mood on the learning of

brand names . Their research findings demonstrate that “mood affects brand r

ehearsal as well as relational elaboration and strategies used to process

information”.

83
 Feasley, (1984) examined Television Commercials from an artistic point of

view. In her view art is a “form of expression, the communication of feeling that

intensifie s our involvement with life, making the experience more vivid by

stimulating our capacity to feel and respond”. She suggests that television

commercials have to be viewed from a ‘contextualistic aesthetics’, when artists

‘perceive, order, clarify, intensify and interpret certain aspects of the human

condition for themselves and later for some one else”. She argues, “if art is

enrichment and an intensification of life as well as a reflection of our lives, then

television commercials fit that niche” and concludes that television commercials

are a popular art form .

2.17 Art, Aesthetics and Advertising

According to Levy and Czepiel (1974) aesthetics refer to the “entire realm

in which people feel interest, pleasure and emotion and the presence or absence

of beauty’” and “aesthetic feeling can be stirred by many vehicles of experience-

pictures, words, music, colours, shapes and movements”. They observe that “the

elements of aesthetic reaction are always present; aesthetics is pervasive”. They

also note that aesthetic approach in marketing is quite visible in product design

where by the product becomes a work of art and the product is decorated for

aesthetic stimulation, design is reshaped to fit some aesthetic effect.

84
 Schroeder, (2005) in his study on the relationship between art, advertising

and brand management has pointed out that “advertising depends on the

language of painting that celebrates wealth and private property and is often

nostalgic, referring back to a golden age” and that “specifically advertising uses

art conventions of form – genre, poses, and symbols – as well as techniques

borrowed from painting and photography”. In his study, he has cited the

example of Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘ Mona Lisa’ , which appears often in brand

campaigns as an icon of portraiture, fine art, value and as a vehicle of humour.

He adds that ‘Advertising often invokes the world of art’ and Ads often call

products masterpieces or a work of art. He goes on with his discussion on art

and branding by stating that ‘visual arts are an impressive cultural referent

system that brand managers, art directors and advertising agencies draw upon

for their strategic representational power and themes, subjects and techniques

from art history illuminate contemporary imagery’; art- like – marketing is an

important cultural institution that transmits and reflects values, meaning and

beliefs. He concludes by saying that art and consumption can be considered as

aesthetic activities.

To conclude, it can be said that there are many things that are common

for literature and advertising. A number of components of literature are used in

contemporary advertisements as outlined in this chapter. Both advertisements

85
and literary productions are woven around a human narrative. If Advertisements

are treated as literary texts, it is worthwhile to explore them by using the

methods of literary analysis.

2.18 Conceptual Framework

From the review of various studies on impact of literature on visual media

advertising cited in this chapter, it seems th at the area of literature is so vast

and the influences on it so varied and approaches to study it are so diverse,

locating the exact point to study the impact of literature on advertising becomes

problematic. The first chapter has already broadly outline d some of the areas of

impact of literature on advertising in the visual media. In keeping with the

tradition of research in this particular research area, the researcher followed the

footsteps of the major contributors in this area of research like Stern , Mc

Quarrie and Mick, Barbara, Hirschman and others and found that they have

studied only certain select aspects of literature on advertising in the context of

western societies . Very many components of literature used in advertising add

to the effectiveness of advertising and as such a fresh study incorporating major

elements of language and literature and the total impact of all these literary

parameters on advertising needs

86
further investigation. Such studies are presumed to be relevant for India and

Kerala, as expanding consumer economies.

A close observation of contemporary advertisements consistently for a

period of four years from 2002 to 2005 by the researcher both in the print and

television media revealed that though many literary components hav e the

potential to be used in advertisements, advertisers generally use certain

rhetorical devices, poetic elements, dramatic elements and archetypal symbols in

an effort to communicate certain messages clearly just like literary texts .

Accordingly the res earcher after much reflection and also in consultation with

literary experts, marketing academics and professionals in the field of

advertising, visualized a Conceptual Framework incorporating literary elements

classified under four broad literary groupings, which are observed in

contemporary advertisements in the visual media. Test advertisements

containing these literary elements classified under these four specified literary

groups were selected for the study through Focus Groups Discussions in order to

test the impact of these literary elements in these advertisements on advertising

effectiveness.

87
 This Conceptual Framework explains the variables that affect advertising

incorporating the various parameters of literature that may bring about

advertisin g effectiveness in the visual media. This Conceptual Framework is

explained by way of a schematic diagram in Figure 2.1 .This graphic summary

shortlists the various components of literature under study presumed to have

impact on advertising effectiveness in the visual media. The researcher has

mainly tried to study the nature and type of impact of these literary devices and

components on Advertising Effectiveness in the visual media.

88
 FIGURE NO. 2.1
Conceptual Framework – Impact of Literary Devices and Elements on Visual Media Advertising

Literary Groupings, Devices

and Elements

Rhetorical Devices

- Metaphor
- Personification
Marketing and - Hyperbole
Socio Cultural - Pun
Environment Literary
Media Elements and
Poetic Elements Feelings
Devices in
Environment Pathos Communication
Visual Media - Imagery
Advertising Entertainment effectiveness Attitude Advertising
- Rhyme
Media Pleasure of literary Change effectiveness
- Musicality
Clutter Elaboration devices and
Empathy elements used
Liking in Ads Purchase
Dramatic Elements Behaviour

- Plot and
Characterizatio - Brand Awareness - Ad. Recall
n - Brand Recall - Ad. Recognition
- Humour - Brand Reinforcement - Ad. Likeability
- Persuasive Power of Ads - Ad. Message -Clarity
- Willingness to purchase of Communication
Archetypal Symbol the Brand - Attitude towards Ads

- Good Mother

88
 As such the major focus of this research is to study the impact of literary

components on advertising effectiveness in the visual media. The researcher has

operationally d efined advertising effectiveness as the ability of an advertisement to

influence consumer’s attitude and their liking for the ads – i.e; its communication

effectiveness. Such communication effectiveness is generally attempted by

employing various strategies by copywriters . Literature derives its power to affect

human minds by its communication effectiveness by employing various devices and

elements. A study of this type – i.e. ‘impact of literature for advertising

effectiveness in the visual media’ –

therefore leads one naturally to probe how literature employs various

communicative devices and elements in order to bring about powerful impact on its

readers. This research is an enquiry about how literary components may affect

advertising effectiveness in t he visual media.

On probing further in to this topic, the researcher felt that literary

communication and advertising communication are similar in some respects

and that both can be treated as texts intended for communication . The copywriter

and the literary artist face an identical problem of how to communicate with their

audience . How the use of literary devices and elements in advertising affect

advertising effectiveness and the impact of such literary devices and

89
components in visual media adverti sing and advertising effectiveness in terms of

communication effectiveness was examined further.

Although isolated studies have been conducted on certain aspects of

literature and its linkage with advertising, the researcher could not locate any major

studies that can be linked or closely related to the present study . However, a few

studies that analyze components of literature and advertising have already been

discussed in the previous sections .

2.19 Misuse of Literary Devices

Stern (1992b) has studied and analyzed by taking examples of how certain

literary devices are employed by crafty advertisers for deceiving the public. In her

view “artistic creativity can be balanced with the public policy” for protecting the

consumer from deception by

innuendoes. She says that “consumers must be protected from advertisers who play

to human frailty as also creative freedom might not be constrained by a police state

mentality”.

2.20 Post-Modern Self, Identity and Ethical Consumption

Shankar and Fitchett (2002) have analyzed the ethical issues of marketing

and consumption by drawing upon the humanistic philosophy

90
of Eric Fromm and they have advanced a philosophy of ‘marketing of being’ as

modern marketing is creating ‘insatiability’, which ari ses out

of a basic inexhaustibility of wants themselves’. They add that consumption is

closely related to identity; in modernity, personal identity emerged as a substantial

self and the unified sense of the self began to disintegrate in the post -modern

period. They maintain that the post -modern self is characterized as a being defined

by consumption and experiences derived from consumer based activities and roles

and individuals seek sustainable and viable identities and life meanings that have

long -term presence and use consumption as an important mechanism to achieve

them. They advocate that marketing theory should advance the concept of being

-ness and that marketing activities must also be designed to be facilitative of being

-ness.

Most of the above studies are conducted in the western context and these

studies are visualized on a narrower canvass. Although their contribution to this area

of research is noteworthy, the results of the same need to be tested in an entirely

different cultural mil ieu like India, a multi cultural nation. With this main purpose,

the researcher has planned and conducted this study.

91