The aim of this paper is to test a structural model of creativity in print advertising called the Remote Associate Matching (RAM) model. This model states that the essence of creativity lies in being able to associate seemingly remote, or unusual ideas together, such that they are linked to the attribute or benefit of the advertised product. Three essential components of the RAM model are the conveyor (ie. the unusual picture in the ad), the product-representation (ie. the advertised product or service), and the attribute-benefit prompt (ie. the headline or copy).
The main hypothesis is that the more remote the ad, the more likely it is perceived to be creative, provided the target audience can make the attribute or benefit link between the conveyor (ie. the unusual picture in the ad) and the product-representation (ie. the advertised product or service).
In an experiment using 6 print ads for two product categories, three levels of remoteness and two levels of resolution were manipulated. The predicted effect was consistently found across two product categories, thus supporting the new theory.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AakerD.A.StaymanD.M.Measuring audience perceptions of commercials and relating them to ad impactJournal of Advertising Research3019907–17
BaronR.M.KennyD.A.The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerationsJournal of Personality and Social Psychology51619861173–1182
4.
BatraR.RayM.L.Affective responses mediating acceptance of advertisingJournal of Consumer Research131986234–249(September)
5.
BerlyneD.E.The influence of complexity and novelty in visual figures on orienting responsesJournal of Experimental Psychology5531958289–296
6.
BerlyneD.E.Conflict, Arousal, and Curiosity1960McGraw HillNew York
7.
BrownS.P.StaymanD.M.Antecedents and consequences of attitude towards the ad: A meta-analysisJournal of Consumer Research19199234–51(June)
8.
DeBonoE.Lateral Thinking for Management1971Penguin BooksLondon
GoodsteinR.C.Category-based applications and extensions in advertising: Motivating more extensive ad processingJournal of Consumer Research20199387–99
15.
HaleyR.I.BaldingerA.L.The ARF copy research projectJournal of_Advertising Research31199111–32(April-May)
16.
HecklerS.E.ChildersT.L.The role of expectancy and relevancy in memory for verbal and visual information: What is incongruency?Journal of Consumer Research181992475–492
17.
HolbrookM.B.BatraR.Assessing the role of emotions as mediators of consumer responses to advertisingJournal of Consumer Research141987404–420
18.
HoustonM.J.ChildersT.L.HecklerS.E.Picture word consistency and the elaborative processing of advertisementsJournal of Marketing Research241987359–369(November)
19.
KahnemanD.MillerD.T.Norm theory: Comparing reality to its alternativesPsychological Review9321986136–153
20.
KoestlerA.The Act of Creation1964MacmillanNew York
21.
LeavittC.A multidimensional set of rating scales for television commercialsJournal of Applied Psychology5451970427–429
22.
LoftusG.MackworthN.H.Cognitive determinants of fixation location during picture viewingJournal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance441978565–572
LutzR.MacKenzieS.BelchG.Attitude towards the ad as a mediator of advertising effectiveness: Determinants and consequencesBagozziR.TyboutA.Advances in Consumer Research101983Association for Consumer ResearchAnn Arbor, M.I.532–539
25.
MacKenzieS.LutzR.BelchG.The role of attitude towards the ad as a mediator of advertising effectiveness: A test of competing explanationsJournal of Marketing Research231986130–143(May)
26.
McQuarrieE.F.Advertising resonance: A semiological perspectiveHirschmanE.Interpretive Consumer Research1989Association for Consumer ResearchProvo, UT97–114
27.
McQuarrieE.F.MickD.G.On resonance: A critical pluralistic inquiry into advertising rhetoricJournal of Consumer Research191992180–197(September)
28.
MednickS.The associative basis of the creative processPsychological Review691962220–232
29.
MillerC.New clothes ads stripped bare of any mention of the clothesMarketing News2519912(September), 19
30.
MitchellA.A.OlsonJ.C.Are product attribute beliefs the only mediator of advertising effects on brand attitude?Journal of Marketing Research181981318–332(August)
31.
PerdueB.SummersJ.O.Checking the success of manipulations in marketing experimentsJournal of Marketing Research231986317–326(November)
32.
PolitzA.The dilemma of creative advertisingJournal of Marketing19601–6(October)
33.
RatneshwarS.ChaikenS.Comprehension's role in persuasion: The case of its moderating effect on the persuasive impact of source cuesJournal of Consumer Research18199152–62
34.
ReidL.KingK.DeLormeD.Top-level agency creatives look at advertising creativity then and nowJournal of Advertising2719981–16
35.
RichardsI.A.The Philosophy of Rhetoric1936University PressLondon
36.
RossiterJ.R.PercyL.Advertising Communications and Promotion Management1997McGraw Hill CompaniesNew York
37.
RossiterJ.R.EaglesonG.Conclusions from the ARF's copy research validity projectJournal of Advertising Research343199419–32
38.
SadoskiM.PaivioA.GoetzE.T.A critique of schema theory in reading and a dual coding alternativeReading Research Quarterly261991463–484
39.
SchlingerM.J.Attitudinal reactions to advertisementsEighmeyJ.Attitude Research Under the Sun1979American Marketing AssociationChicago171–197
40.
StaymanD.M.AakerD.A.Are all the effects of ad-induced feelings mediated by Aad?Journal of Consumer Research151988368–373(December)
41.
TourangeauR.SternbergR.J.Understanding and appreciating metaphorsCognition111982203–244
