The Power of Emotional Appeals in Advertising The Influence of Concrete Versus Abstract Affect On Time-Dependent Decisions

In this article, the authors explore the role of affective appeals in advertising on time-dependent decisions that is, decisions for the short term versus the long term. They introduce the distinction between abstract and concrete affect and, in two experiments, show that concrete affective appeals drive behavioral intentions more strongly in the short-term perspective, whereas abstract affective appeals appear to drive behavioral intentions more strongly in the longer-term perspective. Their findings help extend our thinking on the role of emotional appeals in advertising as they also introduce a new distinction in such appeals: concrete versus abstract affect. The authors provide examples and illustrations for concrete and abstract affect and discuss the implications of their finding.