The Effects of Visual and Verbal Advertising Information on Consumers' Inferences

This research examines the effects of visual and verbal advertising content on consumers' inferences about missing product attributes. While there is substantial evidence that consumers use verbal advertising claims to form inferences, little is known about the influence of pictures. The results of a laboratory experiment indicate that consumers form both verbally- and visually-based inferences, although inferential beliefs derived from pictures appear to be weaker than those derived from copy. The results also show that both types of inferences are influenced by assessments of covariation between missing and known attributes. Finally, when advertising copy and pictures focus on different product attributes, the pictures disproportionately influence inferences.