To match or not to match : should advertising appeals match the basis of consumers' attitudes?

Advertising planning models, such as the FCB Grid, suggest that for products/brands for which attitudes are based primarily on affect, advertisers would be best served by using affective appeals. Conversely, when attitudes are based primarily on utilitarian, cognitive foundations, advertisers should use informative appeals. In the reported field study, we attempt to assess whether advertisers follow this recommendation. We do so by first assessing the bases of attitude for food products, for a sample of French-Canadians. We then content analyze TV advertisements for food, targeted to the same population, and examine the degree to which there is a fit between the attitude bases reported by the consumers and the appeal used to persuade them to buy. Results provide little support to the expected match between advertising content and attitude bases. Our analyses revealed that, for food products, attitudes were primarily based on affect whereas advertisements typically utilized informational appeals. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.