Conditions for a Picture-Superiority Effect on Consumer Memory

Based on three explanations of imagery effects on memory, hypotheses regarding the conditions under which pictorial ads are or are not remembered better than verbal-only ads are generated and tested. The memorability of brand names semantically related to product class was tested in pictorial versus verbal-only form under various conditions. The results indicate that picture superiority occurs in both immediate and delayed recall tasks when processing is directed at appearance features. Verbal-only stimuli are recalled as well as pictures in immediate recall but become inferior once again in delayed recall, when processing is directed at the semantic content of the ads.