I am not an animal: How animal metaphors backfire in product advertising

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of animal metaphors in product advertisements. Such ads, especially those for health products, often employ metaphors depicting the ad messengers with animal characteristics to imply the negative health consequences of not using a product. Four studies are carried out using field and experimental data. The findings show that animal metaphor ads are less persuasive than nonmetaphor ads because the viewers of ads with animal‐like (as opposed to human) messengers experience stronger perceived self‐dehumanization, which in turn has a negative effect on product choice, brand attitude, product evaluation, and purchase intention. This effect occurs regardless of whether the animal metaphors are presented visually or verbally. Furthermore, the unfavorable reaction is stronger when the source domain includes a more disliked animal. However, it is also found that the animal metaphor effect diminishes when the target domain shifts from human to object. The findings shed light on how a sense of self‐dehumanization, triggered by the use of animalized model images in advertisements, can harm brands and products, offering insights into the pitfalls of using animal metaphors in health communication.