Evoking Imagery Through Advertising on a Smartphone

The present research examines mental imagery elicited by advertising in the mobile medium. Using a factorial experimental design, we examine the influence of the type of message –SMS vs. MMS– and orientation strategy – informational vs. transformational– on mental imagery by means of its three dimensions: vividness, quantity and elaboration. Results show a greater impact of visual and transformational ads on vividness and elaboration, while SMS exerts a greater effect on the quantity dimension of mental imagery.