Sharing the table: social immersion in photographic food advertising

Eating with other people is a common food experience. This research introduces a new consumer mental phenomenon—social immersion—which occurs during an exposure to photographic food ads. Social immersion is—a subjective mental state when consumers imagine themselves sharing the depicted food experience with other people. This paper investigates the role of social immersion in visual food advertising persuasion. Results from an experimental study show that a food product depicted in a subtle sharing table scene significantly increases social immersion (compared to a non-sharing table scene), thereby heightening purchase intention. Social immersion significantly explains the effects of depiction types on purchase intention. Ad attitude and brand attitude cannot explain the effects of depiction types on purchase intention because the depiction types do not directly affect ad attitude and brand attitude.