American Academy of Advertising Annual Conference

This article is a report of two experiments to observe consumer reactions to shocking advertisements that use cute character illustration. Study 1 confirms that participants in the cute cartoon condition have more favorable attitudes toward the ad than participants in the realistic cartoon condition or in the control condition. Study 2 shows that ad tonality moderates the effect of character illustration: When exposed to tree-eating beetle (negative tonality), participants in the cute-cartoon have more favorable ad attitude and stronger donation intention than the photo tree-eating beetle. But, exposure to polar bear (positive tonality) leads to lesser effect of character illustration. Theoretical and practical implications for shocking advertising strategies are discussed.  

Author(s): Dongjae Lim (University of Georgia),Tae Hyun Baek (University of Kentucky), Sukki Yoon (Bryant University), Kim Yeonshin (Myongji University)