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.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
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
Attitude toward the AD as a Mediator of Consumer Brand Choice
Shimp, T. A. (1981) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/00913367.1981.10672756 · Cited by 820
The influence of culture on visual perception
Segall, M. H., Campbell, D. T., & Herskovits, M. J. (1966) · Cited by 756
Consumer Research and Semiotics: Exploring the Morphology of Signs, Symbols, and Significance
Mick, D. G. (1986) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209060 · Cited by 750
Heckler, S. E., & Childers, T. L. (1992) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209275 · Cited by 722
Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student
Glenn, C., & Corbett, E. P. J. (1991) · College Composition and Communication · doi:10.2307/357552 · Cited by 631
The Information Processing of Pictures in Print Advertisements
Edell, J. A., & Staelin, R. (1983) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/208944 · Cited by 583
Culture and Thought: A Psychological Introduction
Deregowski, J. B., Cole, M., & Scribner, S. (1976) · Leonardo · doi:10.2307/1573577 · Cited by 583
A Meaning-Based Model of Advertising Experiences
Mick, D. G., & Buhl, C. (1992) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209305 · Cited by 579
Mitchell, A. A. (1986) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209044 · Cited by 526
On Resonance: A Critical Pluralistic Inquiry Into Advertising Rhetoric
McQuarrie, E. F., & Mick, D. G. (1992) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209295 · Cited by 422
Picture-Based Persuasion Processes and the Moderating Role of Involvement
Miniard, P. W., Bhatla, S., Lord, K. R., Dickson, P. R., & Unnava, H. R. (1991) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209244 · Cited by 413
Images of Ourselves: The Good Life in Twentieth Century Advertising
Belk, R. W., & Pollay, R. W. (1985) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209024 · Cited by 383
The Bridge from Text to Mind: Adapting Reader-Response Theory to Consumer Research
Scott, L. M. (1994) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209411 · Cited by 374
Self-citationDetecting and Explaining Vividness Effects in Attitudinal Judgments
Kisielius, J., & Sternthal, B. (1984) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/002224378402100106 · Cited by 329
An Imagery-Processing View of the Role of Pictures in Print Advertisements
Unnava, H. R., & Burnkrant, R. E. (1991) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/002224379102800210 · Cited by 297
Effects of interactive imagery on learning: Application to advertising.
Lutz, K. A., & Lutz, R. J. (1977) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037//0021-9010.62.4.493 · Cited by 268
Shimp, T. A., Stuart, E. W., & Engle, R. W. (1991) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209236 · Cited by 256
Attitude Change through Visual Imagery in Advertising
Rossiter, J. R., & Percy, L. (1980) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/00913367.1980.10673313 · Cited by 252
Harré, R. (1986) · Cited by 245
Picture-Word Consistency and the Elaborative Processing of Advertisements
Houston, M. J., Childers, T. L., & Heckler, S. E. (1987) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.2307/3151383 · Cited by 244
Understanding Jingles and Needledrop: A Rhetorical Approach to Music in Advertising
Scott, L. M. (1990) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/208552 · Cited by 236
Self-citationHow Ambiguous Cropped Objects in Ad Photos can Affect Product Evaluations
Peracchio, L. A., & Meyers-Levy, J. (1994) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209392 · Cited by 195
Carrier, D., & Hagen, M. A. (1982) · Leonardo · doi:10.2307/1574721 · Cited by 166
The Influence of Print Advertisement Organization on Affect toward a Brand Name
Janiszewski, C. A. (1990) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/208536 · Cited by 156
Hemispheral Lateralization: Implications for Understanding Consumer Behavior
Hansen, F. G. (1981) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/208837 · Cited by 148
The Effects of Visual and Verbal Advertising Information on Consumers' Inferences
Smith, R. A. (1991) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/00913367.1991.10673351 · Cited by 101
Form versus Content in Predicting Starch Scores
Holbrook, M. B., & Lehmann, D. R. (1980) · Journal of Advertising Research · doi:10.1080/00218499.1980.12518783 · Cited by 100
Consumers' Interpretations of Advertising Imagery: a Visit to the Hell of Connotation
Mick, D. G., & Politi, L. G. (1989) · ACR Special Volumes · Cited by 83
The Influence of Nonattended Material on the Processing of Advertising Claims
Janiszewski, C. A. (1990) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/002224379002700302 · Cited by 82
Arnheim, R. (1980) · Critical Inquiry · doi:10.1086/448061 · Cited by 71
Representation without symbol systems
Kosslyn, S. M., & Hatfield, G. (1984) · Social Research: An International Quarterly · Cited by 55
A Quantitative Approach to Magazine Advertisement Format Selection
Diamond, D. S. (1968) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1177/002224376800500404 · Cited by 51
Advertising Resonance: a Semiological Perspective
McQuarrie, E. F. (1989) · ACR Special Volumes · Cited by 47
Other-Speak: Classical Allegory and Contemporary Advertising
Stern, B. B. (1990) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/00913367.1990.10673189 · Cited by 44
Utilitarian, Aesthetic, and Familiarity Responses to Verbal Versus Visual Advertisements
Hirschman, E. C., & Solomon, M. R. (1984) · ACR North American Advances · Cited by 30
COFFMAN, H. L. (1980) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-313602-2.50015-1 · Cited by 2
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
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
Data sources
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.