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Figurativity and Human Ecology
Edited by Alexandra Bagasheva, Bozhil Hristov and Nelly Tincheva
[Figurative Thought and Language 17] 2022
► pp. 181–205

What drives emotion and physiological arousal in adverts?

The critical role of figurative operations

ORCID logo | University of Leicester | University of Birmingham
ORCID logo | University of Birmingham
ORCID logo | University of Birmingham
ORCID logo | University of Birmingham
ORCID logo | University of Edinburgh
The inclusion of figurative operations in marketing videos has the potential to improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns due to their reported ability to trigger emotional responses, thus making the campaigns resonate more strongly with the viewer. This study explored the relationship between the presence of three figurative operations (hyperbole, metaphor and metonymy) in campaign videos and the levels of physiological arousal and emotion that were triggered by those videos. Seven videos were coded for these three embedded figurative operations. Participants watched the videos in laboratory conditions, where their levels of electrodermal activity and self-report emotional responses were recorded. The ability of these figurative operations to trigger physiological arousal was compared to that of two other features that have been shown to promote arousal (the presence of humor and unmarked contrast). The presence of hyperbole led to higher levels of arousal than humor and unmarked contrast, the presence of metaphor led to higher levels of arousal than humor, and the presence of metonymy led to higher levels of arousal than humor, but lower levels than unmarked contrast. Associations between these arousal levels and the reported emotions are discussed, and collectively provide insights into the optimal use of figurative operations in marketing campaign videos. Our findings contribute to a deeper theoretical understanding of the relationship between figurative operations and arousal, and provide practitioners with information regarding which figurative operations are likely to evoke a stronger emotional response when used in marketing videos.
Keywords: metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole, figurative operations, humor, advertising, emotion, marketing videos, electrodermal activity, physiological arousal
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background to the study
    • The benefits of incorporating figurative operations in advertising
    • The role of emotion in advertising
    • The ability of metaphor, hyperbole and metonymy to trigger emotion
  • 3.Methodology
    • Stimuli
    • Measures
      • Independent variable
      • Dependent variables
    • Participants
    • Procedure
  • 4.Analyses and results
    • Video effects
    • Figurative operations
      • Physiological arousal
      • Emotion
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • References
Published online: 10 November 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.17.08hou
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