Advertising Impact Wins in the Emotional Realm: Pre-Figurative as an Analytical Approach in Action Research

Sven Giebel; Susan Hinterding

doi:10.2478/gth-2026-0011

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Advertising Impact Wins in the Emotional Realm: Pre-Figurative as an Analytical Approach in Action Research

Gestalt Theory

Volume 47 (2025): Issue 2-3 (December 2025)

By: Sven Giebel and Susan Hinterding

Open Access

|May 2026

Abstract

Advertising today unfolds less in closed dramaturgies than in fragmented, algorithmically generated media flows. This article conceptualizes advertising impact as a psychodynamic process of tension, object formation and resolution, drawing on Kurt Lewin’s field theory, Friedrich Sander’s Gestalt concept and Wilhelm Salber’s morphological psychology. We show that advertising is effective when it addresses pre-figurative forms and transforms them into viable symbolic Gestalts. Building on this, we introduce the Ad Pre-Figurative Test © 2025 | QUES | Berlin, a method developed in practice for the analysis of ultra-short commercials. Case studies (Coca-Cola, Deutsche Telekom, Dr. Oetker) illustrate how advertising can either foster coherent object formation or result in morpholysis when tensions remain unresolved. Especially in AI-generated formats, the opening images prove decisive for psychological impact. Pre-figurative analysis thus provides an instrument for early concept testing, enabling advertising to be not only informative but also resonant and meaningful.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gth-2026-0011 | Journal eISSN: 2519-5808 | Journal ISSN: 0170-057X

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Language: English, German

Page range: 171 - 192

Published on: May 18, 2026

Published by: Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications (GTA)

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 3 issues per year

Keywords:

Gestalt theory,

Morphological psychology,

Advertising impact,

AI-generated advertising,

Related subjects:

Literary studies,

Topics in literary studies,

Psychology, psychoanalysis,

Medicine,

Clinical medicine,

Psychiatry, psychotherapy,

Mathematics,

History and philosophy,

Social sciences,

Sociology,

Social structures, social interaction, population, social anthropology

© 2026 Sven Giebel, Susan Hinterding, published by Society for Gestalt Theory and its Applications (GTA)
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 47 (2025): Issue 2-3 (December 2025)