Cartoon or reality: how does the visual style of a digital endorser influence purchase intention for elderly tourism products?

Purpose This study aims to examine how digital endorser visual style (cartoonish vs realistic) influences purchase intention for elderly tourism products. It investigates two mediating roles. These are perceived warmth and competence based on the Stereotype Content Model. It also investigates the moderating effect of information framing (positive vs negative) on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach The research is through series of experiments. The visual style manipulation is validated by a pretest. Study 1 focuses on the direct impact on purchase intention. In Study 2, two parallel mediators, perceived warmth and competence, are introduced. The moderating effect of information framing is explored using a 2 × 2 between subjects design in Study 3. PROCESS models are used to analyze data. Findings Cartoon endorsers had more impact on purchase intention than realistic endorsers. They do this by improving the warmth perception. No such effect is evident in perceived competence. Moderation of this pattern is provided by information framing. The warmth benefits of cartoonish styles are enhanced by positive framing. Negative framing enhances the competence appeal of realistic styles. These two framings trigger different persuading strands. Originality/value This study is an extension of the Stereotype Content Model to the case of digital endorser design in elderly tourism. This is a unique identification of warmth and competence paths activated in a context dependent manner. This provides a delicate structure to integrate picture and message components. The results offer practical tips to build successful age-friendly digital marketing campaigns.