The Effects of Advertising Copy on Sensory Thoughts and Perceived Taste

We propose that advertisement (ad) content for food products can affect taste perception by affecting sensory cognitions. Specifically, we show that multisensory ads result in higher taste perceptions than ads focusing on taste alone, with this result being mediated by the excess of positive over negative sensory thoughts. Since the ad effect is thoughts‐driven or cognitive, restricting cognitive resources (imposing cognitive load) attenuates the enhancing effect of the multiple‐sense ad. Our results are exhibited across three experiments and have many implications for cognition and sensory perception research within consumer behavior, as well as several practical implications.