The Effects of Male Virtual Human Characteristics on Consumer Attitude and Discomfort: Focusing on Ryuid

This study examines the impact of the characteristic factors of male virtual humans working as advertising models on advertising attention, advertising interest, advertising attitude, brand attitude, and word-of-mouth intention. We also looked at which factors among the characteristics of virtual humans affect consumer discomfort. Data collection consisted of watching a video advertisement featuring the male virtual human Ryuid and then participating in a self-administered survey. Respondents who participated in the survey were college students and office workers. The age, gender, and occupation of these respondents could affect the research results, so they were applied as control variables. To confirm the research question, we first looked at the characteristic factors of male virtual humans and found that they were intimacy, similarity, attractiveness, and safety. Among the male virtual human characteristics, it was confirmed that safety and similarity had a negative effect on advertising attention. The characteristics of male virtual humans that influence advertising interest were confirmed to be safety and attractiveness. Attractiveness, safety, and familiarity influenced attitudes toward advertising. Attractiveness, safety, and similarity influenced brand attitude. It was confirmed that safety, familiarity, and attractiveness influence word-of-mouth intention. Finally, it was confirmed that safety and similarity among the characteristics of male virtual humans had a negative effect on discomfort. The majority of previous research on virtual humans is comprised of women. Therefore, this study is significant in that it presents academic and practical implications by examining the characteristic factors of male virtual humans and the impact of these factors on consumer attitudes.