Fueling or Suppressing Brand Activism Backlash
How Message Type Differentially Influences Perceived Hypocrisy and Consumer Attitudes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21340528 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tyler Milfeld (0000-0002-6210-3545, Villanova University), Courtney B Peters (0000-0001-7113-8961, Samford University), Jennifer H Tatara (0000-0003-1784-3373, DePaul University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 65 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 542-562 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Advertising Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8499 • E-ISSN: 1740-1909 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00218499.2025.2458370 |
| OpenAlex | W4408517736 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 65 |
Brand activism, a common form of purpose advertising, often incites consumer backlash. Many brands respond by retracting their positions to suppress the negative wave, and this research investigates the effectiveness of the retraction message strategy. Adapting crisis communication literature to this context, this research develops an Accommodative-Defensive message-type framework and compares retraction to three other message types: responsibility, reaffirmation, and no-response. Three experimental studies using real-world brands reveal that retraction generates higher perceived hypocrisy among those who support the original issue position (high levels of issue support). Interestingly, message type does not appear to affect perceived hypocrisy for individuals with low levels of issue support. Brands can mitigate the adverse response to retraction with a lower-level basic need appeal (safety justification). Among other contributions, this research reveals new insight into the interaction between message type and issue support, shows how brand activism backlash necessitates novel communication strategies, and retraction fuels the negative wave, moving the brand closer to a veritable crisis
Advertising · Backlash · Business · Hypocrisy · Political science · Computer Science · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Marketing · Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence · Psychology · Public Relations and Crisis Communication
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| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |