Impact of creative ambiguous cue strategies on consumer purchase decisions

Abstract

We conducted a study to investigate whether the perceived ambiguity of billboard cues has an impact on evaluation and purchase decisions. In today's era of information overload, brands face difficulties in gaining recognition, and viewers often feel rushed and no longer find displayed advertisements appealing. In order to examine the effect of ambiguous cue advertisements on consumers' purchasing decisions, we designed an experiment as an additional measure. Participants (N = 262) in four experiments: arguments 64 (32 high and 32 low), images 62 (31 high and 31 low), typefaces 64 (32 high and 32 low), and combined 72 (36 high and 36 low). The first, second, third, and fourth experiments revealed a significant effect of ambiguous cues on purchase decisions. Participants exposed to highly ambiguous arguments, images, typeface, and combined ads elicited more favourable purchase decisions. Our study test some of the key predictions of Elaboration Likelihood Model and Strategic ambiguity models with the cues, we discovered that individuals are persuaded by central or peripheral routes based on their capacity and perceptions to elaborate and process the information. Theoretical and practical implications for ambiguous cues in fast food advertisements are discussed.