Dr. Ying Huang

Grounded on the theories on rhetorical figures, incongruity, humor, and the Extended Parallel Process Model, this experimental study examined the effects of negatively framed visual hyperbole in advertising, a previously unexplored research area. Negatively framed literal ads and hyperbole ads with two levels of exaggeration were compared. The results showed that high-intensity negative hyperboles were more incongruous, more humorous, and less truthful than their literal counterparts, while the effects of low-intensity negative hyperboles and literal ads did not differ. High-intensity hyperboles (vs. literal ads) exerted a positive influence on ad attitude through incongruity and humor, and a negative influence on ad attitude through ad truthfulness. The two conditions did not differ in ad attitude. As expected, the fear response did not differ between the literal and the two hyperbole conditions. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

This study examines the role of figurativeness and conceptual tension in the effectiveness of visual metaphors. It proposes that the level of figurativeness is rooted in both visual structure and visual context. An experimental study was conducted to test the effectiveness of contextual fusion over simple fusion and contextual replacement respectively in both low and high conceptual tension conditions. The results showed an interaction between metaphor type and conceptual tension. When conceptual tension is low, contextual fusion metaphors are more artful, more humorous and generate more favorable ad attitude than simple fusion and contextual replacement. When conceptual tension is high, simple fusion metaphors are more artful, more humorous and generate more favorable ad attitude than contextual fusions. For low conceptual tension metaphors, there is a simple mediation through artfulness to ad attitude, and a serial mediation from metaphor type to artfulness, humor and to ad attitude. For high conceptual tension fusion metaphors, artfulness and comprehension both mediate the effect of simple fusion (vs. contextual fusion) on ad attitude, and there is a serial mediation from metaphor type to comprehension, humor and to ad attitude. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Building on the well-established visual metaphor typology of juxtaposition, fusion and replacement, this paper first proposed simple juxtaposition and contextual juxtaposition as two variations of juxtaposition, and the visual structure complexity of contextual juxtaposition lies between simple juxtaposition and replacement. Then the validity of the modified typology was tested and supported by difference in perceived artful deviation and imagistic elaboration between simple and contextual juxtaposition. However, contrary to the predictions, no such difference was found between contextual juxtaposition and replacement. In addition, perceived artful deviation and imagistic elaboration were found to mediate metaphor type on ad attitude when the two juxtaposition types were compared. The results support the proposition that there are two variations of juxtaposition visual metaphor and the superiority of contextual juxtaposition over simple juxtaposition. This study extends existing frameworks of visual metaphor typology and suggests that the role of visual context may play a more crucial role than visual structure for visual metaphors. Details of a mediation analysis were presented, and theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Visual hyperbole is a widely used yet understudied rhetorical figure in advertising. This experimental study examined the effectiveness of visual hyperbole over non-hyperbolic visual and verbal hyperbole. A significant serial mediation is found in that visual hyperbole is considered more incongruous than literal visual, and the increased perceived incongruity exerts a positive influence through perceived humour on ad attitude. A similar serial mediation is found when visual hyperbole is compared with verbal hyperbole. In addition, visual hyperbole ads generated stronger product belief than non-hyperbolic visual and verbal hyperbole ads. The advantage of visual hyperbole is attributed to both argument style and mode of delivery. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

This study assesses women's occupational status portrayed in Chinese advertising through a content analysis of 1,524 models in 12 Chinese magazines. Contrary to the authors' predictions, Chinese men were not more likely than Chinese women to be shown in working roles or
less likely than Chinese women to be shown in Family roles. However, a gender bias was revealed in other subcategories of occupational status: Chinese men were more likely to be portrayed as Highlevel business executives and Professionals, less likely to be shown as Entertainers, and less likely to be shown as Models. As predicted, Western women were less likely than Chinese women to be shown in working roles, in Family roles, and more likely to be shown as Models. Overall, advertising portrayals of gender roles in the Chinese context reflected the coexistence of global consumer culture and Chinese local dynamics.

In examining details of the international journey of the 2008 Olympic torch relay in the US and Chinese press, results revealed that US photos emphasized the protest frame by showing unsupported visuals of the torch relay and focusing on human rights/Tibetan independence. The Chinese dailies, on the other hand, emphasized the success of the torch relay while focusing on the harmony frame. These frames reflected each country’s news and societal values regarding the conflict under study, its policy towards Tibet, and its level of support for the Olympics in Beijing. In addition to these findings, the authors propose a framework of visual–textual consistency to access the relationship between visual and textual information. Therefore, this study not only adds to the body of work in visual communication by exploring the visual coverage of a controversial Olympic event in a cross-cultural context, offering a broader understanding of the intertwined relationship between media, conflict, and sports, but also contributes to framing theory by examining captions that build contrasting visual frames within a conflict setting.

A content analysis of photos from four major US newspapers and four major Chinese newspapers depicting the 2008 anti-China/Olympics protests revealed significantly different denoted themes. On one hand, the most prominent dominant visual theme in US newspapers was suppression followed by pro-Tibet demonstrations. On the other hand, in Chinese newspapers the most dominant visual theme was the Olympic torch relay followed by riots and restoring order. Overall, the US dailies visually portrayed a more pro-Tibetan independence slant and the Chinese dailies visually portrayed a more pro-Chinese government slant. Further, the US newspapers portrayed the anti-China demonstrators as non-violent while the Chinese newspapers portrayed them as violent. To give their readers a sense of harmony, Chinese dailies limited the number of images showing anti-China protests, while the US dailies highlighted them, communicating to their readers the suppressive nature of the Chinese government and downplaying the voices of people who supported it.

This study gives a most recent view of nudity in Chinese magazine advertising. Focusing on gender, racial and brand differences, the authors content analyzed 2,058 models in 19 Chinese consumer magazines from a stratified random sample of four months in 2009. Results showed that female models were more likely to be shown in different levels of nudity than male models, and Western models were more likely to be shown in different levels of nudity than Chinese models, as predicted. However, regarding brand origin, although Western advertisers portrayed models in higher levels of nudity, Western and Chinese advertisers did not differ in their portrayals when models were examined separately by brand origin. Our study suggests that sexism in advertising is a cross-cultural phenomenon, and Western advertising models are the trend setters of sexual images in Chinese magazine advertising. Chinese advertising is not only a “melting pot” of cultural values, but also a “melting pot” of advertising practices.