Online Advertisements and Conceptual Implicit Memory: Advances in Theory and Methodology

We conducted three experiments to further our understanding, both theoretically and methodologically, of conceptual implicit memory within the advertising context. Results from the first experiment confirmed what previous research had suggested: using a brand generation task is a conceptual implicit memory measure. The first experiment also demonstrated that conceptual priming can be found using realistic‐looking advertisements embedded within a news website. Results from Experiments 2 and 3 suggest that not only is providing specific encoding instructions not necessary to induce conceptual or semantic processing but also that there were no differences based on whether the experimental procedure was conducted in a laboratory or online. Together, these results have implications for increasing the ecological validity of this type of research. By allowing participants to view realistic advertisements outside of a laboratory without specific encoding instructions, the procedure much more closely mimics how individuals actually interact with advertisements in real life. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.