Pictures and Learning in Advertising

There is certainly a well-understood superiority of pictures over words in learning. In fact, in most print advertising some 70 per cent of the looking at the advert is directed to the picture. One of the reasons for this superiority of pictures over words is the way in which people interact with pictures. Unlike words, which can be used to facilitate learning by using strong, declarative sentences or questions, pictures automatically engage the reader or viewer. Thus, when we read a sentence or listen to a dialogue our mind tends to provide an answer or response in words. Pictures, on the other hand, have the ability to provoke a much more elaborate response. Myers offers a good example of this: ‘you would no doubt be very sceptical if you read or heard a claim that a particular brand of soap could make anyone beautiful. But if the same claim was implied by a picture of a beautiful woman holding the soap, you would be a lot less sceptical'. (Larry Percy, John R. Rossiter and Richard Elliott, 2001, p. 195) Bryce and Yalch brought additional support for the superiority of pictures over words; they showed that information conveyed visually is significantly better learned than the same information content conveyed in the audio. A good way to test the ability of visuals to communicate is to look at a TV commercial with the sound off.

Another important aspect of pictures to be considered is the fact that while words may be used to suggest we are in the ‘presence' of what is being said, visuals offer a much greater potential for ‘including' the reader or viewer. As we look at any picture, a relationship is established between the viewer and the image. This goes with any visual image, from adverts to great works of art. There will be something about the picture that draws us to it. Depending upon the image itself, we will imagine ourselves as either part of what is shown in the picture, or outside observing what is there. The space between the viewer and the actual picture is something Shearman has called ‘liminal space', and it becomes in many ways an extension of the picture itself. This space in front of the picture is important for the advertiser because in certain cases he would want his target audience to feel they are present and a part of the situation depicted in the advertising, while in other cases he would want them to feel outside the situation. The execution of the illustration or visuals in the advertising will dictate how the viewer will feel and this applies not only to print advertising, but also to television. If the sense of connectedness with the viewer is strong, it helps ensure the emotional authenticity of the experience of the advertising. In fact, understanding what goes on in the liminal space directly in front of a picture can help maximize the power of the illustration in facilitating learning. (Larry Percy, John R. Rossiter and Richard Elliott, 2001, p. 196)

Myers reminds us that pictures provide a point of view in much the same way as pronouns do in language. When there are people in advertising, their positions and where they are looking is important to how we respond. Pictures can also suggest prior or future action, as well as context for evaluation. Myers also makes an interesting point about the gaze of principal figures in advertising, suggesting that more often we will find women in advertising looking out at the reader or viewer while male figures are more likely to ‘keep to their own business'. (Larry Percy, John R. Rossiter and Richard Elliott, 2001, p. 196) This observation may be anecdotal, but it is interestingly consistent with the pop-psychology idea that women are more concerned with bonding when communicating with people while men are more concerned with establishing dominance. There are five areas in which there are direct relationships between the picture and learning: the size of the picture, the use of colour, showing the product with the users or in use, high-imagery pictures and word-picture interaction.

•  Picture Size

Size can be used to communicate in different ways and, as we all can observe, larger pictures tend to attract more attention. It also seems that the larger the picture the more visual images the mind will generate and this, in turn, leads to better learning. Research has shown that picture size has a positive impact on beliefs and brand attitude. In fact, it would seem that the larger the picture, the more favourable our attitude toward the advertised product.

There is only one print advertising situation where picture size is not important: direct-response advertising with long copy. With direct-response advertising, memory is not a significant factor because the target audience is expected to respond immediately. Also, since a lot of direct-response advertising involves high-involvement product decisions, a great deal of information is needed to convince the reader to make a decision ‘right now'. Consequently, there is a necessary trade-off between the space needed for a larger picture and that needed for more detailed copy. But in all other cases, the larger the picture, the better.

•  Colour vs. Black and White

Colour positively influences the gaining of attention, but it also has a significant effect upon processing generally. As Albert Kner , former designer chief of the Container Corporation of America said, “colour is the quickest path to the emotions” (Larry Percy, John R. Rossiter and Richard Elliott, 2001, p. 197) ; it goes straight into the emotions and so it often creates a psychological response.

Some years ago, two psychologists in the research laboratories of Xerox Corporation demonstrated that the principal effect of colour in communication is motivation. If all the advertiser needs to do is communicate information, black-and-white pictures could be enough. This means he should never use black-and-white pictures with advertising addressing positive motives. However, with informational advertising black-and-white can be quite effective.

So, colours have meaning for people, because many of them associate colours with images like: ‘garden fresh', ‘mountain cool', etc. Colours also affect perception and this was demonstrated by Ernest Dichter 's research (1964) into how packaging colour affects people's perception of taste. Thus, unknown to the respondent, the same coffee was put into four cups. One of four different coloured coffee cans was placed beside each cup. Respondents were asked to match the statements below with each cup tasted. The research revealed strong perceptions linked with specific colours and so the results were the following:

•  73 per cent of those who drank coffee from a dark brown can said it had “too strong aroma or flavour”

•  84 per cent of the people who drank from a red can said the coffee had a “richer flavour or aroma”

•  79 per cent of those who drank coffee from a blue can said it had a “milder flavour or aroma”

•  87 per cent of the people who drank from a yellow can said the coffee had “too weak flavour or aroma”. (P. R.Smith, 1993, p. 368)

•  Product and User

People are more likely to learn something from advertising if they can make a familiar association with its content. This is known as associative learning and it is aided by pictures that show the product being used in some way rather than leaving it up to the reader or viewer to infer interaction between the product and the user or how the product is used. The importance of interactive pictures or visuals is underscored when we consider the motivation underlying behaviour. People often buy status goods or other products because they suggest a particular image with which they wish to be associated. On the other hand, when dealing with negative motives and informational advertising, a product or brand must be seen as suitable for solving or avoiding a problem. Showing users interacting with a product or seeing a product in use helps connect the product with the motive to purchase or use.

While it is quite common to find these types of interactions in television advertising, they are much less common in print. We often see a picture of a user or endorser next to, but not using the product. It is important in print adverts as well as in television to show the brand being used.

•  High Imagery Pictures

As stated before, concrete, high-imagery words help facilitate learning. The same is true of concrete or high-imagery pictures. More concrete, higher-imagery pictures are those that tend to arouse other mental images quickly and easily; they are more realistic than abstract, low-imagery ones. There are two reasons why these realistic pictures are superior for learning. First of all, people can relate more to concrete representations than to abstract ones; secondly, because of something psychologists call ‘dual coding' people can more easily attach a verbal label to realistic visuals.

Older children and adults automatically assign verbal labels to all but the most complex and novel pictures and thus ‘double-code' them in their minds as both picture and words. For example, if we were to see a picture of an apple, we would encode not only the image of the apple in our minds, but also the label ‘apple'.

Many television ads use animation and often we see cartoons or drawings in print adverts. This can in fact be very realistic because of its simplified rendering of its subject. Using this technique can basically ‘strip' its subject to its essential denotative characters, making them very concrete.

•  Word-Picture Interaction

In a very interesting study it was found that learning is significantly increased if the eye confronts a picture-word rather than a word-picture sequence. This may seem to imply that the advertiser should always place the headline in an advert toward the bottom page so that the picture will be easily seen first, but this is not necessary. The eye is generally drawn initially to an illustration, so an effective use of the picture relative to the headline will ensure that it is seen first, regardless of where the headline is placed.

When the picture is seen first, it tends to draw the reader into the advert to maximize communication and as a result, facilitates learning. This also applies to television, where important spoken copy-points or printed ‘supers' should either be preceded by an appropriate visual introduction or introduced simultaneously.

Consistent with this idea is the notion of the ‘rhythm' established between the words and the pictures in television commercials. Rossiter and Percy have speculated that an overall picture-word pattern, based upon traditional learning theory, should enhance learning from television commercials. The pattern they suggest for informational commercials is to introduce the ‘problem' visually at the beginning of the commercial, followed by a break in the story for a visual introduction of the brand, while the benefit is delivered in the audio words. Then the ‘solution' to the problem is presented in the visual, followed by visual and audio brand identification and a reinforcing tagline in words for closure. The ‘rhythm' established here is built around two pauses in the story or action in order to facilitate brand awareness and learning, allowing the ‘problem' to be recognized by the target audience and then the ‘solution' with the brand to register. The ‘rhythm' when dealing with positive motives and transformational strategies will be different. The brand should be introduced verbally, then a positive reinforcement builds throughout the visual presentation, culminating with the brand name spoken and shown so that the brand is linked to the positive experience of the advert, with a verbal reinforcement through the tagline. (Larry Percy, John R. Rossiter and Richard Elliott, 2001)

In conclusion, for an advert to be effective, the creative idea must be consistent with the overall strategy, interesting to the target audience and unique to the brand. Thus, in the case of television, the key tactics for facilitating attention to television commercials are to vary the emphasis in the audio copy in unexpected ways and to keep the visual cuts to less than twenty in a 30-second commercial. These tactics will help ensure attention to the advertising. To facilitate learning, the advertiser must be sure that the words ‘fit' the visuals and he must be certain that the ‘rhythm' of the commercial is consistent with the overall brand attitude strategy. He must also be sure that the main benefit claims are preceded by or heard simultaneously with an appropriate visual and that the visual content on its own has the ability to convey the message.

As with television, in the case of radio, the advertiser must vary the emphasis in the audio in unexpected ways to help attract attention and consider using unexpected words. He must also use high-imagery words and sentences to enhance visual imagery in the target audience. At the same time, he may suggest a personal interaction with the target audience and, above all, he must keep the copy simple.

In the case of magazines, headlines should be short (less than eight words) and unexpected words or letters can help attract attention. Colour is essential and larger pictures that hold attention should be used. To help learning, the advertiser must be sure that the pictures are seen before the headline, he must personalize copy and use concrete, high-imagery words.

Tactics for newspaper advertising are generally the same as for magazines, with allowance for the heavily retail orientation of much newspaper advertising. Thus, newspaper adverts ideally will be in colour unless all that is needed is to convey information; black and white must never be used in transformational advertising. Even with purely informational adverts, colour will enhance attention. Often using a large picture is just as important here as in magazine advertising, even for retail adverts. High-imagery, concrete words in short and positive headlines should also be used.

In the case of poster and outdoor advertising, the key is that it attracts attention and can be processed with minimal attention to the advert. This means using very large pictures that embody or suggest the benefit, short headlines which communicate the benefit (either directly or indirectly) and brand identification.

In the case of the Internet, banner adverts follow the same rules as poster and outdoor. In order to attract attention and communicate quickly, the advertiser must use a short copy-line in the nature of the headline and a compatible illustration that communicates a positive brand attitude. And like a headline in a print advert, the message communicated by the banner advert should encourage further enquiry, usually clicking to a website. Once into the website, the principles for print advertising continue to hold, but attention must also be paid to facilitating the way readers navigate the site. (Larry Percy, John R. Rossiter and Richard Elliott, 2001)