Insert a Blockade Toward the Right of Ads
Eye gaze travels from left to right. Insert an element that blocks viewers' gaze from drifting away from the ad.
If you need to place images toward the right, then depict a blockade. For example, which ad performed better?
Answer: Ad B (Park, Spence, Ishii, & Togawa, 2018).
The researchers argued that people look more trustworthy if they face left, but I see a more plausible explanation.
If you read from left to right, you evaluate ads from left to right. In Ad B, this person blocks your eyes from leaving. Your eyes enter from the left, move rightward until hitting that person, and then move downward toward the product.
In Ad A, your eyes start at this person and then move rightward (away from the product).
We need research to verify my claim, but I suspect that advertisements hold more attention if they block your eyes from moving rightward.
- Park, J., Spence, C., Ishii, H., & Togawa, T. (2018). Does Face Orientation Affect the Perception of a Model and the Evaluation of Advertised Product?. ACR European Advances.