The impact of hard- and soft-sell ad appeals on the formation of consumer attitudes under different cultural orientations

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this study is to examine how hard- and soft-sell ad appeals influence consumer attitudes toward the advertising and the brand. In addition, it explores how consumers' cultural profile potentially influences the formation of these attitudes. The theoretical basis for the study is Narrative Transportation theory, which influences consumers' emotional engagement, and Cultural Globalization theory, which determines individual-level differences in attitudes toward cultural phenomena. The results of this research aim to provide support for choosing the correct advertising appeal for brands operating in an international environment, and who wish to maximize the benefits that advertising can bring in terms of attitude formation.

Methods The study was conducted as a quantitative experiment using an online survey. Consumers were randomly assigned to groups in which they watched a video ad and afterward answered questions about their emotional engagement, cultural orientation, and attitudes toward the ad and the brand. The video ads were from two US laundry detergent brands, one representing a soft-sell (storytelling), approach and the other a hard-sell (promotional) approach. The 143 survey responses were analyzed using analyses of means, regression, and analysis of variance.

Results The results of the study showed that storytelling advertising leads to stronger emotional engagement and more positive attitudes towards the ad and the brand than promotional advertising. In addition, the consumer's world-mindedness influences attitude formation, with globally oriented consumers experiencing stronger attitude formation with storytelling advertising, while locally oriented consumers prefer promotional advertising. These results provide an indication of how the advertising approach should be chosen while taking into account the cultural orientation of the target audience.