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

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.