In light of the disadvantages of celebrity spokespersons and the prevalence of brand anthropomorphism, the branding strategy of having an animated spokescharacter (ASC) is gaining popularity. Based on social information processing theory and parasocial interaction relationship (PSR) theory, this study explored the characteristics of brand animated spoke scharacters regarding whether and how they generate advertising effects. In an empirical study involving 292 participants concerning two animated spokescharacters (“Tuniu” and “Three Squirrels”), we obtained the following findings: (1) The characteristics of ASCs (likeability, expertise, and congruence) are positively related to parasocial interaction relationships (PSRs) and advertisement effects; (2) PSRs fully mediate the relationship among likeability and ASC congruence and advertisement effects but partially mediate between ASC expertise and advertisement effects; and (3) adult playfulness moderates the effect of ASC likeability on advertisement effectiveness. This research expands the study of the effects of ASCs on advertising and enriches our understanding of the positive associations of ASCs.

鉴于名人代言人的劣势和品牌拟人化的普遍性，拥有动画代言人（ASC）的品牌战略正日益普及。基于社会信息处理理论和超社会互动关系（PSR）理论，本研究探讨了品牌动画说话者的特征，即它们是否以及如何产生广告效果。在一项涉及292名参与者的涉及两个动画发言人（“ Tuniu”和“三个松鼠”）的实证研究中，我们获得了以下发现：（1）ASC的特征（亲和力，专长和全等）与超社会互动关系呈正相关（PSR）和广告效果；（2）PSR完全介导相似性与ASC一致性和广告效果之间的关系，但部分介导ASC专业知识和广告效果之间的关系；（3）成人嬉戏调和了ASC喜好度对广告效果的影响。这项研究扩展了ASC对广告的影响的研究，并丰富了我们对ASC积极联系的理解。