Visual complexity, brand gender, and ad effectiveness

Visual complexity is an important factor in the design of advertisements. This research systematically examines the interaction effect between an ad's visual complexity and brand gender on marketing effectiveness in ad practice. Across a series of seven studies, encompassing an Implicit Association Test (IAT), a Facebook field study, a lab experiment with an incentive-compatible design, and four online experiments, the current research demonstrates that consumers respond more favorably to a masculine (versus feminine) brand when presented with a visually simple (versus complex) ad. This symmetric effect is driven by conceptual fluency (i.e., the ease of deriving meanings). That is, a match between masculine (versus feminine) brands and simple (versus complex) ads makes the ad processing more conceptually fluent, which in turn enhances ad effectiveness. Moreover, a boundary condition for the core effect was identified, such that the effect between an ad's visual complexity and brand gender is attenuated among consumers with an analytic (versus holistic) thinking style when processing ads. This research advances the literature on visual aesthetics, brand perception, and ad effectiveness. Our findings also offer actionable insights to marketing practitioners regarding the strategies of ad design and brand positioning in the marketplace.