The persuasive effects of fictional brand character: Consumers’ brand attitudes to fictionality

This research aims to figure out the persuasive effect of fictional characters as brand spokesperson. Specifically, the study investigates the effects of presence and fictionality in the process of perceiving and experiencing the brand character.

Advertisements were selected after being assured if the fictionality, familiarity, and creativity were at similar levels. A pretest is conducted to undergraduate students for checking the similarity level of the properties. 120 undergraduate students were selected by convenience sampling. Each 30 persons were allocated separately to four groups; high-low fictionality x utilitarian-hedonic products. Two video ads were presented repeatedly twice within a given period of time.

The results of two way ANOVA revealed that interaction effects were found between two independent variables. In hedonic products, groups exposed to high-fictional characters felt more WSD than to low-fictional ones, while, in utilitarian products, groups exposed to low-fictional characters felt more WSD than to high-fictional ones. A significant interaction effect between product types and the fictionality. Specifically, WSD marked the highest scores with high-fictional character in hedonic products, while WSD marked the lowest with high-fictional character in utilitarian products. That is, when used in advertisements for hedonic products, using high degree of the fictionality in brand character can be effective in order to induce WSD.

A follow-up study, in this sense, can be suggested to be conducted on relevant and reliable scales. It might be also fruitful if the results of this study were expanded to explore the role of the fictionality in dramatized advertising.