Are we a product of our environment? Assessing culturally congruent Green advertising appeals, novelty, and environmental concern in India and the U.S.A.

ABSTRACT

In response to rising consumption effects on the environment, green advertisers have employed different tactics to advertise their unique products. Limited research has explored the impact of culturally congruent appeals in green advertising. A total of 118 (N) adults participated online to assess the influence of these appeals in a cross-cultural context. Findings indicate that collectivistic appeals worked best among Indian consumers while individualistic appeals were more effective for Americans. Ad novelty and environmental concern were important covariates. Implications for advertisers are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Green advertising
• culture
• individualism-collectivism
• ad novelty
• environment
• India

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sidharth Muralidharan is an Assistant Professor in the Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. His primary research interests are on cross-cultural studies and advertising’s impact on mitigating social and environmental issues in India and abroad, while secondary research interests include social media and online advertising. His work has been published in Journal of Advertising Research; Social Influence; Asian Journal of Communication; Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking; Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly; and Public Relations Review, among others.

Carrie La Ferle is a Professor in the Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. Her research examines how culture impacts advertising effectiveness and consumer behavior. She has examined issues of credibility, attitudes toward advertising, ethnic minority media use, language preferences, diffusion of innovations, and many other issues in relation to the intersection of culture and advertising. Dr La Ferle’s work has resulted in over 40 publications including articles published in, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Global Marketing, and Journal of Consumer Marketing, among others.

Yongjun Sung is a Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Korea University. His research focuses on brand personality, self-concept, consumer–brand relationships, and consumer psychology. He has authored or co-authored over 70 articles in leading refereed journals including Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, and Journal of Brand Management, among others.

ORCID

Sidharth Muralidharan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0982-5298

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the research grant from the Temerlin Advertising Institute.