Shadow Whole Black-and-White Items

Shadows are black. Unlike a color image and like a black-and-white image, shadows lack hue. Also, shadows are homogeneous. They do a much better job of depicting the whole shape than differentiating the details.
     Researchers at Fairfield University and University of South Florida built on these facts to find that including a shadow of an item in an ad increases the ad’s effectiveness when the item is shown in black-and-white and perceived as a whole. But the use of shadowing detracts from the ad’s effectiveness if the item is shown in color or specific features of the item are being highlighted. In these cases, the characteristics of a shadow add noise to the ad’s visual message rather than reinforce the presentation.
     In the studies, ad effectiveness was measured by viewers’ degree of agreement with items like, “The ad executes the product’s image with the verbal claims efficiently” and “All the ad elements are consistent with one another.” For an ad highlighting specific features, the researchers described in text a coffee table’s tapered leg support. The corresponding ad presenting the item as a whole omitted this text. In another of their set of studies, the researchers verified that people pay attention to a car’s shape when seeing it in an ad, which is consistent with perceiving the product as whole, called a “gestalt.”
     The researchers comment that fashions are generally advertised for their gestalt characteristics, such as overall shape, style, and design, so would be expected to benefit from use of item and model shadows, as long as the presentations are in black-and-white.
     Prof. Nazuk Sharma, the lead researcher in these studies, previously considered the effects of the opposite of a shadow’s black—empty white space. White yields visual contrast, highlighting the ad copy. This makes an ad or banner easier to read. Moreover, studies at University of Wisconsin and University of Alberta had showed how white space in an ad or signage gives impressions of sophistication and even extravagance. Prof. Sharma wondered if there was something superior about the white. Would it not be better to reinforce the product image by populating the empty space using a color associated with the product?
     The answer was a conditional yes. Use the product color instead of white if the product or experience is of the type subject to impulse purchasing. Using the product color in that circumstance increases shoppers’ impulse buys.

Successfully influence the most prosperous & most loyal consumer age group. For the specific strategies & tactics you need, click here.

Click for more…

White Out If Product Color Matches Better 

Shape Ads for Future Use Purchases 

Texture Icons for Seniors’ Ease