“Yes, (s)he is pretty, but...” An investigation of the simultaneous impact of endorser characteristics relevant to purchasing behaviour

Objectives. Research on advertising efficiency states, that both the attractiveness of a model endorsing a product (Halliwell & Dittmar, 2004) as well as the extent of identification with this endorser (Felser, 2001) are relevant parameters of advertising effectiveness. Surprisingly, no research has simultaneously investigated the significance of attractiveness and identification with the endorser in the field of non-celebrity endorsement (e.g., typical product users), so far. Method and Results. Using an experimental between-subjects design (N = 480) endorser’s attractiveness and gender were manipulated in print advertisements for four different products. Including pivotal determinants of purchasing behaviour (e.g., impression on product quality) multiple regression analysis showed that identification but not attractiveness had a small but significant incremental predictive value on purchasing behaviour. Conclusion. A (potentially less attractive) non-celebrity endorser with whom consumers can identify themselves might be preferred in favour of an attractive one with whom consumers cannot identify themselves

Attraktivität ist nicht alles: Eine regressionsanalytische Untersuchung produkt- und testimonialbasierter Determinanten konsumrelevanten Verhaltens

Die Werbewirkungsforschung belegt, dass sowohl die Attraktivität der Person, die ein Produkt bewirbt (Testimonial) (vgl. Halliwell & Dittmar, 2004), als auch das Ausmaß an Identifikation des Konsumenten mit diesem Testimonial (vgl. Basil, 1996), relevante Determinanten der Werbewirksamkeit sind. Bislang nicht systematisch untersucht ist hingegen, in welchem Ausmaß beide Variablen im Bereich der Laien-Testimonials (d.h. typische Produktnutzer) bei gleichzeitiger Berücksichtigung jeweils bedeutsam sind. Unter Verwendung eines experimentellen between-subjects Designs (N =480), bei dem auf Printanzeigen neben der Produktkategorie auch die Attraktivität und das Geschlecht des Testimonials manipuliert wurden, belegt eine multiple Regressionsanalyse, dass nur Identifikation, nicht aber Attraktivität zusätzlich zu zentralen kaufrelevanten Einstellungskomponenten (z. B. Bewertung der Produktqualität) einen signifikanten inkrementellen Vorhersagewert hinsichtlich kaufrelevanten Verhaltens aufweist. Dies deutet somit darauf hin, dass einem attraktiven Laien-Testimonial gegebenenfalls eines vorzuziehen ist, welches möglicherweise sogar etwas weniger attraktiv ist, jedoch dem Betrachter Identifikationsmöglichkeiten bietet

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements