Decoding the Effects of a Product’s Cast Shadow on Brand Evaluations in Promotional Contexts: A Structured Abstract

Advertisements commonly employ visual imagery to not only demonstrate the functional aspects of a product, but also to emphasize its visually pleasing aspects such as style, look, and appeal. For instance, Apple’s recent launch, iWatch, was seen advertised at an angle such that it cast a shadow on the white space around it. Consistent with Apple’s design-centric branding strategy, its adverts portray the brand as visually esthetic. It is interesting to note that while some brands use the product’s shadow as a part of the visual imagery, others do not. Research under visual imagery in advertising has explored changes in product evaluations, attitudes, affect, emotional appeal, purchase intentions, and information processing (Rossiter and Percy 1980; Janiszewski 1990; Levy and Perachhio 1992). Surprisingly, however, the downstream effects of a product’s shadow when present in a brand-oriented ad frame have yet to be explored. This research attempts to systematically test the effects of the presence or absence of a product’s shadow on its brand evaluations. In doing so, it employs experimental design to test the impact of product’s shadow on the consumer perceived brand image.