The Impact of Labels and Advertisements in Motivation for Bottled Water

Consumers’ daily water consumption remains below the recommend level. Previous research has shown that the degree to which drinks are thought of in terms of consuming and enjoying them (i.e., simulations) predicts intake. Here, we examined whether water labels or advertisements framed in terms of consumption and reward simulations increases motivation for a fictitious bottled water. In three pre-registered experiments with regular consumers of SSBs (N = 1355), we presented numerous different labels of fictitious water brands with words related to the rewarding consumption experience of water (e.g., “refreshing”, “cool”), with conventional descriptions of water that emphasised its origin and purity, or with brand names only. Contrary to our expectations, waters with consumption and reward-focused labels were not rated more favourably than waters with conventional labels, but both were rated higher than brand-only labels. In three additional online experiments (Nexp1 = 984; Nexp2 = 786), participants immersed themselves in situations shown in advertisements that highlighted the rewarding consumption experience of water (e.g., “refresh all your senses with this smooth, cool water”), health consequences of drinking water (e.g., “this water takes care of your health”), or control advertisements. We assessed participants’ descriptions of the bottled water with a Feature Listing task. Responses were coded for features related to consumption and reward, and positive long-term health consequences. We also measured ratings of attractiveness (Exp. 1), desire, and Willingness To Pay (WTP; Exp. 1 and 2). Simulation-enhanced advertisements increased the number of consumption and reward features, and health-focused advertisements increased the number of health features mentioned. Moreover, significant indirect effects showed that simulation-enhanced advertisements increased attractiveness (Exp. 1), desire, and WTP (Exp. 1 and 2) through an increase in consumption and reward features, whereas health-focused advertisements increased these ratings through an increase in health features. The effect through consumption and reward was stronger.