The impact of mimicking on attitudes toward products presented in TV commercials

Commercials influence our attitudes and consumer behavior. We investigated whether mimicking product presenters in commercials adds to positive effects on attitudes and behavioral consumer intentions. Participants watched TV commercials and were instructed to mimic or not to mimic the movements of the model presenting a product. Then we measured their attitude toward the products (Studies 1 and 2) and their behavioral intention to buy the products (Study 2). Results revealed that mimickers had a more positive attitude toward the presented products and had more intention to buy the products than nonmimickers. Furthermore we demonstrated that the mimicry effect on behavioral intention was mediated by attitudes. Thus mimicry makes products presented in a persuasive setting more attractive to us, which increases the intention to buy these products.