The Advertisement Puts Me Down, But I Like It

Examining an Emerging Type Of Audience-Targeted Negative Advertisement

Bibliographic Data

ID21340591
AuthorsHongjie Sun (0000-0003-4764-3786, Hainan University), Luo Yong (0000-0003-0988-7800, University of Kent), Feifei Liu (0000-0002-8785-9074, Shandong Vocational University of Foreign Affairs), Ben Lowe (0000-0002-5041-600X, University of Kent)
Year2023
Volume63
Issue2
Pages160-171
Publication date2023-06-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Advertising Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8499 • E-ISSN: 1740-1909
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.2501/jar-2023-010
OpenAlexW4379645713
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited46

Advertisements often use positive appeals to please consumers. One exception is an emerging device that uses negative messages to target audiences, which the current authors refer to as “audience-targeted negative advertisements.” Through in-depth interviews and two experiments, this research systematically explores the perceptions and feelings of audiences about audience-targeted negative advertisements (Study 1); empirically distinguishes these advertisements from humorous advertisements and other negative advertisements (Study 2); and investigates when audience-targeted negative advertisements are more likely to be effective for advertisers (Study 3). The results show that audience-targeted negative advertisements have unique features that include negativity, uniqueness, humor, realism, and emotional influences such as empathy. Findings include practical guidance for advertisers on degree of negativity and product-type conditions in which audience-targeted negative advertisements are most effective

Advertising · Appeal · Appeal to emotion · Business · Empathy · Feeling · Negativity effect · Perception · Political science · Product (mathematics) · Target audience · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Humor Studies and Applications · Media Influence and Health · Psychology · Social Psychology

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