Food on the Move: The Impact of Implied Motion in Pictures on Food Perceptions through Anticipated Pleasure of Consumption

To tackle obesity, upgrading the image of healthy food is increasingly relevant. Rather than focusing on long-term benefits, an effective way to promote healthy food consumption through visual advertising is to increase its pleasure perception. We investigate whether implied motion, a popular trend in food pictures, affects food perceptions through anticipated consumption pleasure. Prior research shows that motion affects food perceptions, but these studies focused on limited food categories, using experiments with a single food stimulus, and mainly showing unhealthy food effects. Therefore, we aim to (1) replicate prior findings on the effects of food in motion on appeal, tastiness, healthiness, and freshness perceptions; (2) examine whether these effects differ for healthy and unhealthy food; and (3) investigate whether anticipated pleasure of consumption drives the effects of implied motion on food perceptions. Three between-subjects experiments (N = 626) reveal no evidence for the effectiveness of motion (vs. no motion) across a large variety of food products. We further show no differential effects for healthy versus unhealthy foods. Moreover, implied motion does not increase appeal or taste perceptions through anticipated pleasure. Considering the current replication crisis, these findings provide more nuanced insights into the effectiveness of motion in visual food advertising.