Is the more real the better? The effect of matching food advertising type with promotion type on consumers' purchase intention

This study investigates how various types of food illustration advertisements (cartoon-executed versus normal) and promotional strategies (bundle versus percentage-off) affect consumer purchase intentions. Through four experiments, this study shows that aligning cartoon-executed (vs. normal) food illustration advertisements with bundle (vs. percentage-off) promotions can enhance consumer preferences (Study 1a) and increase the likelihood of food purchases (Study 1b), with affective (vs. cognitive) processing serving as a mediator (Study 2). In addition, we identified the moderating effect of the advertising language type (affective or cognitive) (Study 3). These findings contribute to the literature on advertising and promotion with practical insights for marketers on effective food promotion strategies.