Brand Recall in AR vs Traditional Ads: The Role of Ad Incompleteness

This study analyzes how interactivity and ad incompleteness shape users’ cognitive and affective responses to advertising in augmented reality (AR) versus traditional video. A 2 (format: AR vs non-AR) × 2 (exposure: complete vs incomplete) between-subjects experiment exposed participants to one of four sneaker ads. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling and Multigroup Analysis, a Stimulus– Organism–Response model was tested linking Ad Intrusiveness and User Control to Perceived Incompleteness, Curiosity toward the Ad, Emotional Response, and Brand Recall. User Control increased curiosity and positive emotions, while Ad Intrusiveness heightened perceived incompleteness and reduced emotional response and curiosity. Perceived Incompleteness, Curiosity and Emotional Response, however, did not significantly predict Brand Recall, and Need for Cognitive Closure did not moderate the incompleteness–recall relationship. These results suggest that interactivity and AR mainly enhance experiential engagement rather than brand memory. The study contributes to interactive advertising theory by integrating curiosity and perceived incompleteness into an AR-based S–O–R framework and by qualifying assumptions that immersive, high-engagement formats automatically strengthen brand recall, offering guidance for designing AR campaigns that balance immersion with clear, memorable branding.