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The results were, however, affected by the level of congruency between the ad vehicle (i.e., Web page) and the banner ad. Subjects in a congruent condition showed a greater extent of preattentive processing than those in a non-congruent condition. No significant impact of animation was found.
This research contributes to the field of Web advertising in many ways. The proposed model of how Web advertising works advances advertising theory by including preattentive processing. As more consumers ignore or avoid Web advertising, the importance of the model will be enhanced. Also, empirical examinations of preattentive processing of Web advertising add knowledge about the relationship between preattentive processing theories and Web advertising practice. Considering that more than half of consumers claim not to pay attention to Web ads during their online activities, findings in this study provide useful insight to Web advertisers on the effectiveness of Web advertising. Most of all, Web advertisers should note that mere exposure to Web advertising induces a positive impact on implicit memory, attitude, and consideration set formation. The findings of this study suggest that, even though consumers do not remember seeing Web ads because of their divided or minimal attention, Web advertisements still have subtle effects on various advertising effectiveness measures as well as online brand building through preattentive processing.