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Towards a theory of visual signification

Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSNChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

Published
Publication date13/10/2015
Host publicationAdvances in Advertising Research: the digital, the classic, the subtle, and the alternative
EditorsPeeter Verlegh, Hilde Voorveld, Martin Eisend
Place of PublicationWiesbaden
PublisherSpringer
Pages179-199
Number of pages21
VolumeVI
ISBN (electronic)9783658105587
ISBN (print)9783658105570
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Publication series

NameEuropean Advertising Academy
PublisherSpringer

Abstract

Theories of visual rhetoric have been welcomed as a promising framework for understanding how visual communication works in advertising. However, visual rhetoric has not yet provided a systematic understanding of how visual persuasion operates. One of the assumptions which might inhibit the further development of theories of visual rhetoric is the argument that images do not imitate reality. Our counter-argument is that resemblance between visual signs and reality is essential for leveraging consumers’ experiences when they interpret pictorial metaphors in ads. The findings of two experiments suggest that individuals not only incorporate their knowledge of the physical world into their interpretation of ad images, but also that the principles of categorisation of physical objects can be used to structure how persuasion works in visual communication. We therefore propose that identifying the level of visual claim strength within ads contributes to our understanding of visual persuasion.