The effect of an advertisement's colour on emotions evoked by an ad and attitude towards the ad - The moderating role of the optimal stimulation level

Despite its importance surprisingly little is known about the influence of colour in advertising. This paper studies the effects of the three components of an ad's colour (hue, saturation and lightness) on the emotions it evokes and on attitudes towards it. It is assumed that the influence of colour varies with the individual, whose optimal stimulation level (OSL) is considered a moderator variable. Analyses of covariance were conducted. The results show that OSL is a moderator variable accounting for the relations between hue and the pleasure evoked by the ad, and hue and the attitude towards the ad. Moreover, OSL proves to be a moderator for the relation between saturation and the same dependent variables.