Promoting effects of color-text congruence in banner advertising

Abstract

Previous studies have found that the congruence among elements in an advertisement can enhance advertising efficiency. However, the influence of congruence between color and text, two important elements of ads, has not been directly investigated. The present study aims to investigate how color-text congruence affects advertising effectiveness in capturing attention and generating favorable attitudes. A total of 94 students from a college in China participated in an experiment using a within-subjects design. Participants were presented with ads either matched in color and text (congruent condition) or not (incongruent condition). Attention and attitudes were measured by eye-tracking and subjective rating, respectively. The results demonstrated that participants paid more attention and gave more positive ratings to ads in the congruent condition than those in the incongruent condition. In addition, the present study separately investigates the concrete versus abstract meanings of colors. This distinction bridges complementary theories in contemporary color psychology.