Effects of Creativity in AI Advertising: The Mediating Role of Perceived Uncanniness

Extending previous research on creative AI to the context of AI advertising, the present study examined whether creativity in AI advertising could evoke perceptions of uncanniness and consequently have a negative impact on ad outcomes. Based on a two (ad creativity: low vs. high) by two (creator label: human vs. AI) between-subjects experimental design, the present study showed that ad creativity in general had a positive direct impact on attitude toward the ad (A_ad), attitude toward the brand (A_b), and purchase intentions. In addition, there were significant mediation effects of perceived creativity on A_ad and A_b via perceived uncanniness, which was moderated by creator label. For the AI-creator-labeled condition, perceived creativity had negative indirect effects on A_ad and A_b via perceived uncanniness, such that greater perceived creativity led to greater perceived uncanniness, which in turn induced less favorable A_ad and A_b. However, the mediation effect was not found for the human-creator-labeled condition. Thus, the positive effect of ad creativity was smaller for the AI-creator-labeled ad.