When Are Photographs or Illustrations More Effective in Public Service Ads?

Images that tell a powerful story are critical for the success of public service advertisements. This research aims to demonstrate when photographs versus illustrations in visual media are most effective in motivating consumer prosocial behavior. The moderating role of construal level (i.e., how abstractly or concretely people represent information) is examined. Results of three lab experiments and one field study show that, in motivating prosocial response toward public service advertisements, photograph visuals are more effective when paired with concrete mindsets, whereas illustration visuals are more effective when paired with abstract mindsets. This matching effect leads to enhanced processing fluency and subsequent empathic response, which motivates prosocial behavior. The matching effect is reversed, however, when the public service advertisement’s social issue is directly relevant to the viewer’s identity.