Which Company is the Best for Green Advertising?: The Effects of Green Advertising on Cosumer Response Focused on Advertiser Characteristics

Abstract

This study examines the effects of green ads on consumer responses focused on an advertiser’s green characteristics, which is found to be an important variable. By applying a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design using 472 subjects in Korea, this study demonstrates that the three independent variables of green ad claims, green source credibility, and green product attributes exert a significant main effect on an ad’s effectiveness. This study also shows that these three factors in combination exhibit no significant interaction effect on ad effectiveness, but an interaction effect was found between an advertiser’s green credibility and its product’s green attributes on consumer attitudes toward an advertisement. These empirical findings remind marketers of the importance of environmental credibility, the environmental attributes of a product, and environmental claims for advertising. Marketers should take these variables into account when designing environmental claims for advertisements.