Impact of various types of provocative advertisements on brand recall and attention engagement: Pilot study report

Abstract

The study's main goal was to investigate the impact of various types of shocking content of provocative advertisements on brand recall and visual attention engagement.The experiment used the eye-tracker (iViewX RED500) to record the eye movements. Forty-one participants were divided into two groups. Provocative (drastic, religious, and erotic) advertisements were presented experimental group while the control group was shown modified illustrations without provocative content. The study revealed that the average fixation time and fixation counts on erotic element were significantly higher in provocative advertisements than in their non-provocative equivalents. Average fixations time on the brand was significantly greater in nonprovocative advertisements than in erotic versions of these ads. It was found that the shocking element and brand were better remembered in provocative advertisements containing religious content than in their non-provocative equivalents. In contrast, these elements were less remembered in advertisements containing drastic content than in their non-provocative equivalents.