Good marketers see consumers as complete human beings with all the dimensions real people have.
Jonah Sachs
Since its inception, advertising has spawned criticism because of the questionable motivations behind its development and intent. For example, questions such as does advertising create materialism by generating wants for products consumers do not need and cannot afford?, does advertising increase the consumption of unhealthy products?, and are public service announcements (PSAs) actually effective in promoting healthy behavior or preventing unhealthy behavior? often raise queries about the intent of advertising, and whether the intended and unintended consequences of advertising are harmful or helpful to consumer well-being (CWB). Given the prevalence of advertising in our society and advertising’s influential role in shaping societal behavior, the question of whether or not advertising helps or hinders well-being demands exploration and insight.
CWB is ‘a state of objective and subjective well-being involved in the various stages of the consumer/product life cycle in relation to a particular consumer good’ (Sirgy and Lee Citation2008, 381). Sirgy and Lee define subjective well-being as ‘feelings of satisfaction/dissatisfaction the consumer experiences in a manner that contributes to his or her quality of life’ (381), while objective well-being is something assessed by experts related to product quality, costs and safety. Most of the work related to marketing and CWB focuses more on subjective well-being. However, Michel et al. (Citation2019) note that recent research exploring subjective well-being has given little attention to the role of advertising, suggesting the link between advertising and individual well-being is not well understood. The authors propose that how advertising affects well-being may operate through two conflicting approaches. One potential path is that advertising can positively affect well-being by providing information that helps people make better choices about products. In contrast, advertising may negatively affect consumer well-being by raising consumption aspirations and stimulating desires that are not feasible.
At the same time, consumers receive thousands of advertising messages each week through an increasing number of media channels. These ads may be informational in nature, with the goal of offering specific knowledge to help individuals in their decision-making. Ads may also be emotional, attempting to elicit affect that may or may not be relevant to the actual product promoted. In either case, the ads may help or harm consumers in their overall well-being. That is, some advertisers may simply seek to sell a product with little regard to the consumer’s best interests. Other advertisers create ads to help consumers through use of the promoted product.
In an effort to understand the effects of advertising on consumer well-being, this special issue sought papers to discern these issues better by answering the single question, ‘Does advertising help or hinder well-being’. The resulting seven articles included in this issue cover a range of topics including the first paper that synthesizes the existing literature on advertising and well-being.
Because the consumer well-being construct itself is still being developed, and the many factors that can influence well-being have never been examined in an organized manner, in the first paper of the issue, Gilbert et al conduct a systematic literature review from 1980 to 2020 to assess the state of this body of literature. Based on this review, the authors construct a model proposing five different categories of advertising. The paper also discusses how different factors influence consumer well-being. The authors conclude by suggesting multiple areas of future research that could benefit both theory development and practice. This synthesis provides a nice roadmap for how the papers published in this special issue intersect advertising and CWB.
For example, in their discussion on vulnerable populations, Gilbert et al. note that extant literature focuses primarily on children. Yet they also suggest there is surprisingly little research conducted on this topic, highlighting the need for additional exploration. Moreover, Nairn (Citation2014) believes the relationship between advertising and children’s well-being is both highly complex and highly controversial and often disregards the consequences for the well-being of children. Nairn emphasizes that research is clearly needed, particularly in light of consumerism becoming a global phenomenon. Recognizing this need, this special issue includes three papers addressing the influence of advertising on the well-being of children.
Lapierre et al. investigate the influence of advertising on children’s behavior and consequently, on parent stress and well-being. Specifically, they examine the impact that exposure to television has on parent-reported child-initiated purchase requests and coercive behaviors. Their study with parent-child dyads finds exposure to television is indeed related to both child-purchase initiations and coercive behavior. Further, both of these factors are associated with increased parental stress, which affects both physical and emotional parent well-being. However, increased communication between parents and children about advertising weakens the relationship between television exposure and children’s coercive behavior.
Alhabash et al. use social cognitive theory and the limited capacity model of mediated motivated message processing to examine the effect of alcohol ads featuring younger versus older models on young consumers. The results of two experiments find models’ perceived age in alcohol ads affects cognitive processing of the ads, participants readiness to engage with the ads online, and their desire to consume alcohol. These findings suggest exposure to alcohol ads, particularly those that feature young models, can potentially hinder the well-being of underage consumers. Further, in both studies, the ads were shown on social media platforms: YouTube and Instagram, respectively. These findings allude to the deferential impact on consumer well-being due to the nature of content sharing and interactivity – where the effects have potential to extend far beyond exposure to the message.
The research by Samson, Nanne, and Buijzen uses theory based in advertising, information processing, and cognitive psychology to investigate the influence motivationally-relevant appeals have on memory for pro-nutritional messages. Results of a mixed factorial experiment demonstrate that young consumers have better memory (measured through recognition and free recall) for ads that feature social eating contexts. Further, social appeals are more effective for teenagers compared to preteen children. These findings provide insights into how food advertisements can enhance the well-being of young consumers.
In their review, Gilbert et al. also explain how individuals relate to and connect with models or spokespeople featured in an ad, concluding that this connection affects consumer response. In particular, they reference work documenting the well-established finding that women often compare themselves to female models in ads, pointing to the need for realistic imagery in these messages. In fact, considerable attention has been given to the detrimental impact that exposure to idealized imagery, particularly in the form of thin models, can have on women’s well-being.
In this issue, Tse and Lou investigate the influence of different model sizes and find that women generally assimilate to an average-sized model over a thin model or plus-size model. However, they find women’s body mass index (BMI) moderated the mediating relationship between model size and purchase intentions via perceived similarity to the model. Specifically, women with a lower BMI assimilate more to an average-sized model vs. a plus-sized one, while women with a higher BMI assimilate more to an average-sized model vs. a thin one. This work suggests that average models may facilitate better well-being among women, a finding consistent with the points noted by Gilbert et al.
Relatedly, Shinoda, Veludo-de-Oliveira, and Pereira use an intersectional lens to examine stereotypes of women in print advertising in Brazil to determine if women are underrepresented in advertising and to garner a better understanding of representations that are present and absent. Results of a content analysis of print ads from 1995 to 2015 reveal that women were portrayed primarily in decorative roles, were mostly white, and had a thin body type. However, findings show women were also depicted in more nontraditional and empowered roles, suggesting an increase in diverse portrayals of women. Among the most marginalized images of women were mature women and indigenous women. It is well documented that underrepresentation can be detrimental to consumer well-being and this work suggests that although portrayals are beginning to shift, print advertisements should aim for increased diversity and inclusivity in terms of race, age, body type, and active roles.
Gilbert et al also note that health and wellness are an integral part of consumer well-being, and the last paper in this special issue by Ivanov, Eisend, and Diehl examines the interactive effect of disease appeals and life history strategy to determine the conditions in which a disease appeal can be utilized effectively to reduce harmful behaviors. Additionally, this work examines the moderating role of message frame. Findings from two experiments find support of an interaction effect, such that slow strategists’ behavioral intention is lower when a reproductive disease appeal is used, while a fast strategist’s behavioral intention is lower when a lethal disease appeal is used. Further, these effects occur only for negatively framed messages (compared to positively framed messages). Taken together, these results offer implications for health messaging to enhance the well-being of consumers.
In sum, this special issue offers insight into the role advertising has on CWB, highlighting the complexities of what determines whether advertising power affects CWB positively or negatively. Findings from the collection of papers published in this special issue demonstrate that advertising can both help and hinder CWB, but also emphasize the need for further research to explore the nuances of advertising in the complicated space of CWB. As society moves forward with increased exposure to media in various platforms, this research topic is fruitful and instrumental to advance the field of advertising. It is our hope that this unique special issue provides the foundation for future inquiry on this important topic.
References
- Michel, C., M. Sovinsky, E. Proto, and A. J. Oswald. 2019. Advertising as a major source of human dissatisfaction: Cross-national evidence on one million Europeans. In The economics of happiness, ed. M. Rojas. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15835-4_10
- Nairn, A. 2014. Advertising and child well-being. In Handbook of child well-being, ed. A. Ben-Arieh, F. Casas, I. Frønes, and J. Korbin. Dordrecht: Springer.
- Sirgy, M. J., and D. J. Lee. 2008. Well-being marketing: An ethical business philosophy for consumer goods firms. Journal of Business Ethics 77, no. 4: 377–403.