Narrative Transportation and Cinematic Advertising: The Role of Fantastical Thinking in Unrealistic Trailers

(disponible en anglais seulement)

[VERSION EN PRÉPUBLICATION]

Michela Addis, Giulia Miniero, Francesco Ricotta, Morris B. Holbrook

Michela Addis is Full Professor of Marketing at Roma Tre University. She holds a Ph.D. in Business Economics and Management from Bocconi University. Her research focuses on customer experience, consumer well-being, and cultural marketing. She serves as Associate Editor for International Journal of Arts Management and publishes in leading international journals.
Giulia Miniero is Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Milan. She holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Bocconi University. Her research focuses on consumer behavior, customer experience, consumer–brand relationships, and sustainable consumption, examining how market and contextual factors shape consumer responses, well-being, and the broader societal implications of marketing practices.
Francesco Ricotta is Full Professor of Marketing at Sapienza University of Rome. His internationally oriented research focuses on consumer behavior, customer experience, and value creation in digital and social contexts. He studies digital marketing, social influence, recommendation systems, social networks, weak ties, and algorithmic decision-making, contributing to debates on AI, omnichannel strategies, consumer well-being, and sustainability.
Morris B. Holbrook is the W. T. Dillard Professor Emeritus of Marketing in the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University, New York. His most recent book reflects the range of his interests and insights:  Consumer Behavior:  New  Essays on the Study of Consumption (2025, Routledge).

ABSTRACT
In line with transportation theory, narrative realism enhances transportation and persuasion in advertising. Our research investigates motion-picture trailers—narrative advertisements for films—and posits that less realistic trailers impose greater cognitive effort, exploring whether activating fantastical thinking facilitates processing unrealistic ads and thereby moderates the realism-transportation relationship. Two experiments using motion-picture trailers (realistic vs. unrealistic ads and high vs. low fantastical thinking) confirm that realistic ads achieve higher transportation and persuasiveness. Additionally, the studies reveal: (1) fantastical thinking moderates the positive impact of narrative realism on persuasion; (2) individuals with low fantastical thinking are more transported and persuaded by realistic ads; (3) differences in transportation and persuasion due to realism diminish for individuals with high fantastical thinking; and (4) those with high fantastical thinking experience heightened transportation and persuasion, regardless of ad realism.
KEYWORDS
Fantastical thinking; narrative transportation; trailer; cinematic advertising; film marketing