Revisiting Visual Communication

Abstract

A new approach to advertising visuals has been advocated that sees images as complex figurative arguments, which are processed cognitively rather than peripherally and automatically. Have visuals therefore acquired a status similar to that of words in advertising? Consumer research has not yet demonstrated the ability of advertising visuals to directly persuade consumers about products' possession of specific attributes. The establishment of the ability of visuals to make direct claims and therefore persuade viewers seems to be an important step towards the recognition of images as an independent system of argumentation. To this aim, the authors develop a theoretical framework that explains how a categorization-based approach to images can help understand visual rhetoric in advertising. Building on categorization theory, the present chapter delineates how consumers process visual ads claim that vary in strength.