This document summarizes a study that investigated the effect of typeface congruency between advertisements and products on attitudes. The study presented advertisements for water bottles and car tires that used either a congruent or incongruent typeface based on if the product was portrayed as casual or luxurious. Results found that congruent typefaces led to more positive attitudes, higher brand credibility ratings, and higher expected prices compared to incongruent typefaces. The effect occurred for both low and high involvement products.

1. THE RIGHT FONT FOR THE JOB
EFFECT OF TYPEFACE-PRODUCT CONGRUENCY
ON ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE AD
Tim Smits
KU Leuven
@timsmitstim
Tim.smits@soc.kuleuven.be
PRESENTED @ EMAC2015
Collaboration:
Robin Van der Sar
Goele Aerts (KU Leuven)

2. BACKGROUND
“The great art in writing advertisements, is the finding
out a proper method to catch the reader's eye, without
which a good thing may pass over unobserved, or be
lost among commissions of bankrupt. […] I must not
here omit the blind Italian character, which being scarce
legible, always fixes and detains the eye, and gives the
curious reader something like the satisfaction of prying
into a secret.”
Typeface @ emac2015 2

3. BACKGROUND
“The great art in writing advertisements, is the finding
out a proper method to catch the reader's eye, without
which a good thing may pass over unobserved, or be
lost among commissions of bankrupt. […] I must not
here omit the blind Italian character, which being scarce
legible, always fixes and detains the eye, and gives the
curious reader something like the satisfaction of prying
into a secret.”
Addison, 1710
Typeface @ emac2015 3

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Sans
“The Boston Phoenix reported on disgruntlement over the
widespread use of the font, especially its incongruous use for
writing on serious subjects, with the complaints urged on by a
campaign started by two Indianapolis graphic designers, Dave
and Holly Combs, via their website "Ban Comic Sans". The
movement was conceived in 1999 by the two designers, after
an employer insisted that one of them use Comic Sans in a
children's museum exhibit”
“In the Netherlands popular radio DJs Coen
Swijnenberg and Sander Lantinga decided to celebrate the
font by having a Comic Sans day on the first Friday of July.
Comic Sans Day has been held since 2009. Some Dutch
companies have their website in Comic Sans on this day.”
Typeface @ emac2015 4

5. CONGRUENCY IN ADS
Match between a creative choice and strategic (brand)
positioning : colors, endorsers, humor, pictorial
features, typeface
Two types of evidence on congruency:
1. Schema-theory (Mandler, 1982): Moderate
incongruity is most persuasive
Heckler & Childres, 1992; Törn, 2012; Halkias & Kokkinaki,
2013; Yoon, 2013; …
2. Numerous findings where a match between
creative details and the ad results in more
persuasion
Typeface @ emac2015 5

6. • Image properties: Peracchio & Meyers-Levy, 2005
• Online banners & banner blindness: Hervet et al,
2010
• Endorser relevance: Sengupta et al, 1997
• Logo color: Bottomley & Doyle, 2006
• …
Janssens, De Pelsmacker & Geuens, 2012 both effects:
internet page + ad
-Congruence benefit for limited processing
-Incongruence benefit for extended processing
Typeface @ emac2015 6

7. HYPOTHESES ON TYPEFACE CONGRUENCE
1. Congruence > Incongruence
Typeface is a subtle ad element, thus a Type 2 effect
2. Negative effect of incongruence especially when
overselling
Advertising a casual product with a luxurious
typeface
Typeface @ emac2015 7

8. TYPEFACE EFFECTS – PRIOR EVIDENCE
Van Rompay & Pruyn (2011); zie ook Bottomley &
Doyle
8

9. Typeface @ emac2015 9

10. PRETESTS; N = 20
• Fonts:
– Din = casual
– Counselor Script = luxurious
• Products/Advertisements
Water – low involvement product
– DasaniTM = casual
– IsklarTM = luxurious
Car tires – high involvement product
– KuhmoTM = luxurious
– PirelliTM = casual
[Changed Pirelli in Kuhmo to avoid prior associations]
10

11. 11
Target stimuli water bottles
Casual positioning, Casual typeface Casual positioning, Luxurious typeface
Luxurious positioning, Casual typeface Luxurious positioning, Luxurious typeface

12. Target stimuli car tires
Casual positioning, Casual typeface Casual positioning, Luxurious typeface
Luxurious positioning, Casual typeface Luxurious positioning, Luxurious typeface

13. METHODE
2 (product positioning: luxurious vs. casual) x
2 (typeface: congruent vs. incongruent) x
2 (matching: congruence for low vs. high involvement
product)
mixed design, Latin square
N = 98, i.e. 49 per BS condition
Measures:
Aad & Brand credibility (semantic differentials); Price
expectation
13

14. RESULTATEN
Aad
per product type, product positioning and typeface
congruence
14
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Incongruent Congruent Incongruent Congruent
Water Tire
Casual
Luxurious

15. Brand Credibility
15
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Incongruent Congruent Incongruent Congruent
Water Tire
Casual
Luxurious

16. Price expectation (water: euro-cent voor water; tires: euro)
16
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Incongruent Congruent Incongruent Congruent
Water Tire
Casual
Luxurious

17. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION
Ad typeface seems to fit within the subtle type of
congruence effects where congruence is more
persuasive than (moderate) incongruence
Effect for low & high involvement product
Replicability of negative effect for casual incongruity? Is
this an attention effect?
17

18. THE RIGHT FONT FOR THE JOB
EFFECT OF TYPEFACE-PRODUCT CONGRUENCY
ON ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE AD
Tim Smits
KU Leuven
@timsmitstim
Tim.smits@soc.kuleuven.be
PRESENTED @ emac2015
Collaboration:
Robin Van der Sar
Goele Aerts (KU Leuven)