Examining Consumer Appraisals of Deepfake Advertising and Disclosure: Show Deepfakes as “Real Life” or Say They’re “Just Fantasy”?

Abstract

Deepfakes are a controversial and emerging AI-facilitated advertising tool warranting empirical exploration. This research explores the phenomenon of deepfake advertising, and how deepfake quality, disclosure presence, and disclosure characteristics are appraised by consumers to influence advertising outcomes. Across three experimental studies utilizing deepfake advertisements, this research reveals that high-quality deepfake advertisements are appraised similarly to their original counterparts. High-quality, disclosed deepfakes trigger an emotion-value appraisal process which explains consumer responses and subsequent advertising outcomes. Disclosure presence and timing influence this process and can enhance or hinder advertising effectiveness.