An Examination of the Current Usage of Probability Markers in Print Advertising: A Content Analysis

Abstract

Probability markers are specific words or phrases used to signal to which degree is it likely that a given claim or argument is true. They indicate various levels of probable (hedges) or certain (pledges) truth, and can be used in advertising to reduce the consumers’ tendencies to counter-argue the claim of the ad (Vestergaard and Schroder, 1985) or to enhance the credibility of the claim (Areni, 2002).