Abstract:
Over the past decade marketers have started to make more use of multilingual advertising (foreign languages and foreign accents), with the ultimate goal to stimulate a customer’s purchase intention. On the one hand the literature suggests that speakers are downgraded for having an accent, and on the other hand an accent congruent with a product or service could have beneficial outcomes. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of a French accent, and a slogan in a French accent in Dutch radio commercials advertising a product or service, regarding the listener’s purchase intention, comprehensibility, attitude towards commercial, attitude towards product/service, and attitude towards speaker. In total, 223 native Dutch participants evaluated commercials promoting a beret or a Moulin rouge show visit. Findings suggest that accentedness in advertising has no or barely any beneficial effects, and marketers should carefully think about whether or not to use accentedness in their advertising.
