Selling stories of social justice. How consumers react to and learn from social ads

Abstract

Advertising strategies are constantly changing and today, companies often take a position regarding current social topics in their advertising messages. With two experimental studies using actual ads, we explore how people react to and learn from social ads regarding particular social issues they tackle. With the first study, we examine whether an ad that deals with modern sexism raises awareness about this issue and whether it performs more effectively than a non-narrative, informative video (TED-talk) with the same topic. Second, as corporate social responsibility (CSR) ads are discussed to be received controversial among viewers, we explore how a social ad communicating a CSR message (gay rights) compared to a “classic” product ad performs on brand-relevant outcomes. Both studies indicate that raising awareness for a social issue through social ads could potentially backfire and might only work under certain circumstances. Advertisers, therefore, should elaborate on how they integrate CSR ads into their marketing strategies.