The Effect of Voice Quality on Ad Efficacy

Extensive research has examined how to make broadcast advertising as effective as possible. However, one area of advertising that has received little research is the effect of the announcer or spokesperson's voice on consumers' reactions to the ad or the product being advertised. In this paper, we examine the effect of the announcer's voice quality, or an overall impression of his or her voice, on consumers' purchasing intentions for a new service. We find that female listeners are most likely to purchase this service when they hear it advertised by a man who has a creaky voice, but least likely to purchase it when they hear it advertised by a woman with a creaky voice. Other voice qualities produce more moderate results. Men, in contrast, are relatively insensitive to the effect of voice quality. (C) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.