The 'Visual Depiction Effect' in Advertising: Facilitating Embodied Mental Simulation Through Product Orientation
Abstract
This research demonstrates that visual product depictions within advertisements, such as the subtle manipulation of orienting a product toward a participant’s dominant hand, facilitate mental simulation that evokes motor responses. We propose that viewing an object can lead to similar behavioral consequences as interacting with the object since our minds mentally simulate the experience. Four studies show that visually depicting a product that facilitates more (vs. less) embodied mental simulation results in heightened purchase intentions. The studies support our proposed embodied mental simulation account. For instance, occupying the perceptual resources required for embodied mental simulation attenuates the impact of visual product depiction on purchase intentions. For negatively valenced products, facilitation of embodied mental simulation decreases purchase intentions.
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Visual specificity of DALL•E images can align with user aesthetic preferences and augment mental simulation, a recognized stimulus of purchase intention.
“This visual particularity can augment mental simulation (i.e., visualizing oneself with the product), a recognized stimulus of purchase intention (Elder and Krishna, 2012).”
From The Impact of Generative AI on Personalized Content Marketing in E-Commerce (2025) · cites this paper as Elder and Krishna, 2012
Cites
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Hilken, T., de Ruyter, K., Chylinski, M., Mahr, D., & Keeling, D. I. (2017) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-017-0541-x · Cited by 693 · see citing works
Meng, L. (., Bie, Y., Yang, M., & Wang, Y. (2025) · Tourism Management · doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2024.104978 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
The Impact of Generative AI on Personalized Content Marketing in E-Commerce
Mohiuddin, D., Tariq, M. H., & Tahir, A. (2025) · Inverge Journal of Social Sciences · doi:10.63544/ijss.v4i1.288
“This visual particularity can augment mental simulation (i.e., visualizing oneself with the product), a recognized stimulus of purchase intention (Elder and Krishna, 2012).”
- Authors
- Elder, R. S., & Krishna, A.
- Affiliations
- Brigham Young University (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Consumer Research
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2012-04-01
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 988-1003
- ISSN
- 0093-5301 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-5277
- OpenAlex
- W2159487479
- Cited by
- 465
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 57 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 44 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 41.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Consumer Research (publishedVersion)
- ScholarsArchive (Brigham Young University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Retail Behavior Studies
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior and Marketing Influence
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
- Keywords
- product orientation, purchase intention, motor response, negative valence, advertising, consumer behavior
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