1. FACTS VERSUS FEELINGS? THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HARD VERSUS SOFT SELL APPEALS IN ONLINE ADVERTISING
Marijke De Veirman, Liselot Hudders, Verolien Cauberghe Department of Communication Sciences, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences
INTRODUCTION
Print media: informational  analytical, cognitive reactions to ads  hard sell > soft sell (Golden & Johnson, 1983)
↔ online media: transformational  soft sell > hard sell?
RESEARCH QUESTION
Effectiveness of hard vs. soft sell appeals in online advertising
Two advertising formats: online banners and viral videos
STUDY 1: HARD VS. SOFT SELL APPEALS IN PRINT VS. ONLINE BANNER ADS
STUDY 2: HARD VS. SOFT SELL APPEALIS N VIRAL VIDEO ADS FOR LOW VS. HIGH INVOLVEMENT PRODUCTS
METHOD:
2 (appeal: hard vs. soft sell) by 2 (medium: print vs. online) between-subjects experimental design
IV: appeal, medium
DV: Aad
Ads for high involvement products
RESULTS:
Print: mediating effect of irritation (↓) and credibility (↑)
Online: partly mediating effect of irritation (↓)
METHOD:
2 (appeal: hard sell vs. soft sell appeal) by 2 (product involvement: high versus low) between-subjects experimental design
IV: appeal, product involvement
DV: Aad (graph 1), intention to share (graph 2)
RESULTS:
MEDIUM p = .672
APPEAL p = .449
MEDIUM*APPEAL p < .001
APPEAL p = .049
INVOLVEMENT p = .233
APP.*INV. p = .050
APPEAL p = .016
INVOLVEMENT p = .523
APP.*INV. p = .237
In online advertising (banners and viral videos) for high involvement products, soft sell appeals are preferred over hard sell appeals, because they generate a more positive attitude towards the ad, which increases the intention to share in a viral context.