Consumer responses to tropes in print advertising

This research investigates the effects of a specific type of figure of spee ch in. print advertising. The figures of speech, tropes, are indirect or ir regular statements, such as puns or metaphors, that require; viewers to mak e inferences to understand their intended meaning. The results suggest that using tropes can significantly enhance the effectiveness of a print ad, ma king the ad more persuasive and more memorable. However, the effectiveness of tropes seems limited to low involvement settings. The authors suggest th at advertisers can. employ tropes to overcome some of the difficulties asso ciated with advertising to disinterested consumers.