Abstract

Brands use advertisements that tell a story (i.e., narrative ads) to illustrate the positive outcomes that consumers could achieve by consuming their products. When consumers relate ad narratives to their life stories, a link is expected to build between the brand and the consumers’ self-identity. This self-brand connection is positively related to consumers’ brand attitudes. A different body of literature suggests that consumers tend to have more brand associations that connect to the story elements in narrative ads for a familiar brand rather than an unfamiliar brand. This thesis seeks to contribute to current knowledge by investigating whether and how brand familiarity affects the relation between narrative ads, subsequent self-brand connections, and consumers’ brand attitudes.