Recent advertising research demonstrates that rotating text can shape consumer responses by altering perceived product attribute magnitude. Building on Zhang, Kwak, Puzakova, and Taylor (2025), this study examines whether this mechanism extends to vertical writing contexts, where advertising copy unfolds from top to bottom rather than from left to right. The findings show that vertical writing changes the psychological meaning of text rotation. Whereas rotated horizontal text primarily directs attention along the left–right axis, rotated vertical text is perceived as a standing object or body losing balance. This shift introduces a distinct embodied mechanism. Upright vertical text signals stability, self-support, and order. Clockwise-rotated vertical text evokes a forward-falling form of imbalance, whereas counterclockwise-rotated vertical text evokes an externally guided or pulled form of imbalance. These embodied meanings become persuasive when they fit the product meaning emphasized in the advertisement. Upright vertical text enhances evaluations of stability-maintenance offerings, clockwise rotation benefits self-propelled momentum products, and counterclockwise rotation benefits external-support or recovery offerings. Processing fluency mediates the effect of this visual–product congruence on product evaluation. This research extends text rotation research beyond magnitude perception and identifies vertical writing as a theoretically meaningful boundary condition for advertising design.

Authors:
Jue Wang, Josai University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Wang Jue is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, Faculty of Business Administration, Josai University, and a part-time lecturer in the Faculty of Business Administration at Hosei University.

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