The DOI matches its Crossref record; 46 of the 46 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Images in Advertising: The Need for a Theory of Visual Rhetoric
Abstract
In this article, past consumer research dealing with advertising images is analyzed and critiqued for its underlying assumption: that pictures are reflections of reality. The case against this assumption is presented, and an alternative view, in which visuals are a convention-based symbolic system, is formulated. In this alternative view, pictures must be cognitively processed, rather than absorbed peripherally or automatically. The author argues that current conceptualizations of advertising images are incommensurate with what ads are really like, and that many images currently dismissed as affect laden or information devoid are, in fact, complex figurative arguments. A new theoretical framework for the study of images is advanced in which advertising images are a sophisticated form of visual rhetoric. The process of consumer response implied by the new framework differs radically from past concepts in many ways, but also suggests new ways to approach questions currently open in the literature on the nature and processing of imagery. A pluralistic program for studying advertising pictures as persuasion is outlined.
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Citations
Cites
Central and Peripheral Routes to Advertising Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Involvement
Petty, R. E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Schumann, D. (1983) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/208954 · Cited by 4,610
Eco, U. (1976) · Indiana University Press eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-349-15849-2 · Cited by 2,899
(2017) · Communication and Social Order · doi:10.4324/9781315080925-15 · Cited by 2,061
Are Product Attribute Beliefs the Only Mediator of Advertising Effects on Brand Attitude?
Mitchell, A. A., & Olson, J. C. (1981) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.2307/3150973 · Cited by 1,472
The Role of Imagery in Information Processing: Review and Extensions
MacInnis, D. J., & Price, L. L. (1987) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209082 · Cited by 1,276
Goodman, N. (1968) · Cited by 1,183
Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation
Gibson, J. J., & Gombrich, E. H. (1960) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1419971 · Cited by 1,138
The Power of Feelings in Understanding Advertising Effects
Edell, J. A., & Burke, M. C. (1987) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209124 · Cited by 1,119
The imagery debate: Analogue media versus tacit knowledge.
Pylyshyn, Z. W. (1981) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.88.1.16 · Cited by 1,063
Seeing and imagining in the cerebral hemispheres: A computational approach.
Kosslyn, S. M. (1987) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.94.2.148 · Cited by 946
Cited by
Consumer Culture Theory (CCT): Twenty Years of Research
Arnould, E. J., & Thompson, C. J. (2005) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/426626 · Cited by 3,677
Can Mixed Emotions Peacefully Coexist?
Williams, P., & Aaker, J. L. (2002) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/338206 · Cited by 488
Mirrors of Masculinity: Representation and Identity in Advertising Images
Schroeder, J. E., & Zwick, D. (2004) · Consumption Markets & Culture · doi:10.1080/1025386042000212383 · Cited by 383
Narrative and Persuasion in Fashion Advertising
Phillips, B. J., & McQuarrie, E. F. (2010) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/653087 · Cited by 350
Ethos,logos,pathos: Strategies of persuasion in social/environmental reports
Higgins, C., & Walker, R. (2012) · Accounting Forum · doi:10.1016/j.accfor.2012.02.003 · Cited by 328
Metadata
- Authors
- Scott, L. M.
- Venue
- Journal of Consumer Research
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1994-09
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 252
- ISSN
- 0093-5301 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-5277
- OpenAlex
- W1964140767
- Cited by
- 788
- References
- 46
- FWCI
- 56.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.
