Enhancing Self-consciousness: Implications for the Effectiveness of Ad Appeals

This paper explored the influence of self-consciousness on responses to ad appeals. Study one established the positive relationship between self-monitoring and self-consciousness. Study two tested whether level of self-consciousness could influence ad responses. Findings showed that magazine articles written in the second-person, as opposed to the third-person, directed attention to the self and enhanced self-consciousness. Enhancing self-consciousness caused participants high in self-monitoring to generate more favorable ad responses, but it had no effect on those low in self-monitoring. In addition, enhancing self-consciousness significantly improved the effectiveness of image appeal ads, but had no effect on utilitarian appeal ads.