Exerting creativity: unveiling the mechanisms of mobile short-video advertising in promoting consumer decision-making

Purpose In the digital era, creativity is pivotal in marketing, particularly in advertising, where mobile short-video advertising (MSA) has surged in popularity. However, the mechanism of how advertising creativity influences consumer decision-making remains understudied. We scrutinize how MSAs’ creativity influences consumers' purchase and sharing intentions. Design/methodology/approach This study uses 40 selected creative MSAs to collect a total of 666 valid questionnaires. Findings The results show that the exertion of creativity in MSAs positively impacts consumer intentions through perceived surprises and mental simulation, with the optimal stimulus level moderating these effects. Practical implications Our findings provide practical recommendations for brands and advertisers, mainly in terms of the impact of advertising creativity on advertising content strategy, helping them to create effective advertising to capture market and traffic by focusing on the content (relevance) and format (novelty) of advertising. Originality/value This study conducted in-depth research using the cognitive-affective-behavior (CAB) paradigm, integrated with mental simulation theory and the optimum stimulation level theory. Innovatively, we developed a model of the consumer decision-making process based on creativity, which enhances the research on the mechanisms underlying the consumer decision-making process.