An advertising agency creates two television commercials for a range of kitchen and laundry appliances. commercial a emphasizes the sleek styling of the appliances, whereas commercial b stresses their reliability and energy efficiency. will the effectiveness of the two commercials vary as a function of the viewers' need for cognition?

Yes. See explanation below.

Explanation:

In psychology, the need of cognition of an individual refers to the tendency of the individual of being engaged to activities that require thinking, individuals with a high need of cognition tend to seek effortful cognitive activities.

In the question, commercial A emphasizes the sleek styling of the appliances whether commercial B stresses their reliability and efficiency.

Considering these two features, it would be expected that commercial B is more effective with people with a high need of cognition because of the stress on efficiency and reliability (features usually seeked by people with need of cognition) whether commercial A will be more effective with people who don't look for this features and emphasizes physical features of the appliances.

low context culture   (lc.):

association:    

relationships begin and end quickly. many people can be inside one's circle; circle's boundary is not clear.

things get done by following procedures and paying attention to the goal.

one's identity is rooted in oneself and one's accomplishments.

social structure is decentralized; responsibility goes further down (is not concentrated at the top).

interaction:

low use of nonverbal elements. message is carried more by words than by nonverbal means.

verbal message is explicit. context is less important than words.

verbal message is direct; one spells things out exactly.

communication is seen as a way of exchanging information, ideas, and opinions.  

disagreement is depersonalized. one withdraws from conflict with another and gets on with the task. focus is on rational solutions, not personal ones. one can be explicit about another's bothersome behavior.

territoriality:

space is compartmentalized and privately owned; privacy is important, so people are farther apart.

temporality:

things are scheduled to be done at particular times, one thing at a time. what is important is that activity is done efficiently.

change is fast. one can make change and see immediate results.

time is a commodity to be spent or saved. one’s time is one’s own.

learning:

reality is fragmented and compartmentalized. one source of information is used to develop knowledge. thinking is inductive, proceeds from specific to general. focus is on detail.

learning occurs by following explicit directions and explanations of others.

an individual orientation is preferred for learning and problem solving.

speed is valued. how efficiently something is learned is important.

hope that                                         : )