Eyeing the pun: an eye-tracking study on the synergistic effects of visual and textual elements in tourism advertising

Purpose The purpose of this study is to use a multi-methodological approach to investigate how puns in texts and pictorial elements comprising human figures influence viewer engagement and potential consumer conversion in tourism advertising. Design/methodology/approach This study used an experiment with the EyeLink 1000 Plus. The research team curated 24 advertisements with homonymic puns from online travel agencies and Chinese tourism websites. Findings The findings of this study reveal several insights: Eye saccade trajectories among participants were generally consistent with the image-text-image pattern when exposed to advertisements incorporating textual puns and human figures. Pictorial representations featuring human figures independently garnered heightened viewer attention. Textual elements presenting pun expressions also induced greater visual attention from participants. The combination of textual puns and pictorial human figures in advertisements, although not attracting the most visual attention from participants, successfully enhanced their memory of the advertisements and fostered positive attitudes toward them. Practical implications Using human figures in advertisements is likely to improve viewer engagement and attitude toward the brand, which could be strategically used to enhance campaign effectiveness. Furthermore, the use of puns should be considered carefully, as they can increase attention and retention when used effectively, suggesting a tactical deployment in advertising content to maximize impact. Originality/value These results contribute to the existing literature by offering empirical evidence on the effectiveness of textual puns and pictorial human figures in advertising. Additionally, this study provides actionable insights for tourism marketing practitioners seeking to optimize advertisement design.