Wisdom appeals in UK financial services advertising

This paper reports on a study of mathematical images in UK press advertising – in particular, on the use of wisdom appeals as expressed via such images in advertisements for financial services. Over 1500 editions of nine newspapers were monitored for advertisements containing mathematical images. Content analysis was applied to produce an account of the use of mathematical images in advertising specifically for financial services. The findings indicate noteworthy differences in the use of mathematical images among different types of newspapers. This analysis provides insights into how advertisers use mathematical representations to create more ‘scientific’ and trustworthy images of their brands.