The Role of Visual Hyperbole in Advertising Effectiveness

The presence of rhetorical devices in advertising is ubiquitous; however, research in this area is relatively limited. One type of visual device that has been virtually ignored, yet enjoys wide popularity in advertising today, is hyperbole. Depicting people, products, and objects in ways that far exceed their capability is a common strategy used to gain attention, inject humor, and emphasize product attributes. However, a lack of understanding of visual hyperbole has led some researchers and consumers to dismiss this popular figure as an instance of advertising puffery. This study makes important distinctions among these terms and shows that hyperbolic ads produce more ad liking than nonhyperbolic ads. Subjects measuring high in advertising skepticism and subjects who fail to comprehend the figurative nature of the hyperbole, however, respond more negatively toward the ads.