The Other Meaning of Fluency

This research investigates how ad content influences which language should be used in advertisements targeting bilingual individuals. The authors argue that the influence of ad content on language appropriateness is due to processing fluency: Some concepts are more accessible in one language than in the other, which leads to more positive ad evaluations when the ad is written in that language. The results of three studies provide the basis for a Word Accessibility/Fluency framework to study the interaction of language and ad content with respect to ad evaluations. This framework operates at the nonconscious level. Once conscious attention is brought to language, other factors such as language schemas take over ad evaluations.