The Image Realism Effect: The Effect of Unrealistic Product Images in Advertising

Many advertisements use unrealistic images of products (e.g., hand drawings, digital illustrations, rotoscoped animation) instead of actual product images. However, while unrealistic product images are widely used in advertisements, little is known about their possible impact on product evaluation. We propose that because products in unrealistic images look unconsumable or unusable, unrealistic product images (1) suppress consumers’ mental simulation of consuming or using those products and (2) increase uncertainty in the judgment of these products’ characteristics. As a result, unrealistic images attenuate the judgment of a product’s characteristics (both benefits and drawbacks). That is, the same characteristics are judged less intensely when a product is presented as an unrealistic image instead of a realistic image. Through seven studies, we demonstrate this effect for food items (e.g., bread, cupcakes, hamburgers, and chips) and durable goods (e.g., automobiles), finding support for the underlying processes. We further demonstrate that the impact of unrealistic images is not restricted to product evaluation but also extends to actual consumption.