Subtitles in English-only TV commercials

Previous studies on the effects of subtitles in cross-national English spoken commercials have yielded contradictory results regarding young and highly educated viewers’ ad and brand attitudes. Most studies did not examine whether local-language subtitles are still necessary for older viewers to understand the English dialogues in the commercials. In a between-subjects experiment, we examined whether subtitles had a positive effect on (1) participants’ understanding of what the actors in commercials were saying to each other, and (2) participants’ attitudes towards commercials. Our sample (N = 188) consisted of viewers over age forty with different educational backgrounds living in a typical subtitling region. Our study showed that subtitles did not affect viewers’ attitudes towards the commercials. Local-language subtitles, however, increased participants’ understanding of what was said in the commercials, regardless of their educational level. Subtitles in English spoken commercials intended for an older and broad audience are, therefore, certainly not superfluous

UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) The Role of Readers in Writing Development: Writing Students Bringing Their Texts to the Test

The role of readers in writing development: writing students bringing their texts to the test Published in: The Sage handbook of writing development Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Rijlaarsdam, G., Braaksma, M., Couzijn, M., Janssen, T., Kieft, M., Raedts, M.

The importance of country related connections in pictures and slogans for COO products in print advertisements

This paper investigates the effectiveness of the use of country-of-origin (COO) connections in slogans and/or pictures for different COO product print advertisements. We evaluate if marketeers can benefit from focusing on COO-connections in the slogans/texts used and/or in the ‘visualization’ of the ad by adding pictures of the country concerned. Based on a 4x2x2 between subject design, we have analysed the impact on the attitude towards the advertisement, towards the product, towards the quality of the product and on purchase intentions. We have carried out a pre-test to select COO pictures and slogans for the different products. The research results of our empirical study suggest that COO visualization can be significantly effective. However, contrary to the existing literature, we do not find significantly better scores for COO (language) slogans used in advertisements. We find preliminary indications that visual stimuli ‘crowd out’ linguistic (e.g. claims). Our results suggest that marketeers should take visual COO associations into account since visual COO stimuli seem more effective than linguistic COO stimuli.status: publishe

De doeltreffendheid van een Italiaanse versus Nederlandse slagzin in een Italiaanse wijnreclame

© John Benjamins Publishing Company. Foreign languages are commonly used in advertising, because it is generally thought that they attract consumers' attention. Compared to English, Italian is only rarely chosen by European advertisers. Precisely because of their low frequency, Italian words have a higher chance to capture and hold the consumers' attention. Although foreign languages are widespread in advertising, the effectiveness of their use has not been studied extensively. In our study on print advertisements we compare the effectiveness of a foreign language slogan (Italian) relative to a slogan in the local language (Dutch). More specifically, we focus on the effects of foreign language usage on cognitive, affective and conative consumer responses. Cognitive responses include spontaneous and prompted recall of the slogan and the brand name. Affective responses pertain to the attitude towards the slogan, the brand and the advertisement. Conative response was defined in terms of purchase intention. Our sample consisted of 236 subjects of different age and educational level from the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. These participants had little or no knowledge of the Italian language. The experiment had a betweensubjects design. Participants either saw the Italian or the Dutch version of the advertisement. In order to optimize the effectiveness of the use of the foreign language, we ensured a match between foreign language, country of origin, and the advertised product. Therefore, we created an advertisement for Italian wines with visual elements (a picture and a drawing) evoking Italy. Additionally, we chose easy Italian words, as previous research has shown that slogans with easy foreign words are more appreciated than difficult slogans. The results of our study show that the Dutch slogan was more effective for the spontaneous and prompted recall of the brand name. The language of the slogan had no effect on participants' attitudes towards the brand, the slogan and the advertisement. By contrast, the Italian slogan had a positive effect on participants' purchase intentions. The article ends with some concluding remarks and suggestions for future research.status: publishe

Kleine missers met grote gevolgen: effecten van fouten in een terugroepadvertentie

Plasticdeeltjes in snoeprepen en metaalschilfertjes in diepvriespizza’s hebben recent nog tot grootscheepse terughaalacties in België geleid. In dergelijke crisissituaties staat het getroffen bedrijf voor een moeilijke evenwichtsoefening. Het is verplicht om in een terugroepadvertentie helder en open te communiceren over het gebrekkige product. Tegelijkertijd probeert de producent via excuses en financiële compensaties de reputatieschade zo veel mogelijk te beperken. Maar wat gebeurt er als een producent ook in die tekst in de fout gaat? In een experiment met 710 Vlamingen onderzochten wij hoe zwaar tikfouten, dt-fouten en slechtlopende zinnen doorwegen in het oordeel over de advertentie, de producent en zijn producten.status: publishe

The power of negative publicity on the fast fashion industry

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of negative reporting in the media (hereafter negative publicity) about the fast fashion industry on the attitude of (potential) consumers towards fast fashion apparels. This is done on the basis of three experimental studies. These studies also analyzed if visual and written publicity about the working conditions in the production process and environmentally related information, e.g. environmentally unfriendly externalities of the fast fashion production process, can influence the attitude towards fast fashion apparels, i.e. intention to buy, liking, attitude towards the brand. Furthermore, the studies investigated if differences between consumers (e.g. attitude towards slow fashion, fashion involvement, and ethical and environmental consciousness of consumers) significantly influence the impact of such information on consumer attitudes. The findings of the three studies show that negative (audiovisual and written) publicity about the environmental impact and working conditions of the fast fashion industry significantly negatively influence consumers’ attitudes towards the fast fashion industry. The “power” of negative publicity is also significantly stronger than that of positive publicity and is enhanced by the consciousness of consumers towards the social and ecological impact of the fashion industry.status: publishe

Subtitles in English-only TV commercials: are they still necessary or have they become superfluous?

Abstract: Previous studies on the effects of subtitles in cross-national English spoken commercials have yielded contradictory results regarding young and highly educated viewers\u2019 ad and brand attitudes. Most studies did not examine whether local-language subtitles are still necessary for older viewers to understand the English dialogues in the commercials. In a between-subjects experiment, we examined whether subtitles had a positive effect on (1) participants\u2019 understanding of what the actors in commercials were saying to each other, and (2) participants\u2019 attitudes towards commercials. Our sample (N = 188) consisted of viewers over age forty with different educational backgrounds living in a typical subtitling region. Our study showed that subtitles did not affect viewers\u2019 attitudes towards the commercials. Local-language subtitles, however, increased participants\u2019 understanding of what was said in the commercials, regardless of their educational level. Subtitles in English spoken commercials intended for an older and broad audience are, therefore, certainly not superfluous