Consumer Reactions to Animal And Human Models in Print Ads

Animals have been used in advertisements for decades, yet little is known about the effects on consumer reactions along the entire purchase-decision process. This study disentangles the effects of using animal stimuli in isolation or jointly with a human model in print advertisements. Empirical evidence was derived from 126,220 consumer evaluations of 302 actual print advertisements across 18 product categories. Animals not only supported a positive attitude change, they also influenced how products integrated into consumers’ relevant set and the purchase intention by itself. By comparison, women reacted more strongly than men to animal stimuli. Combining an animal stimulus with a human model should be avoided, to preserve a better influence over consumer reaction.