Glow From the Inside or the Outside? The Impact of Product- versus Cause-focused Green Advertising on Consumer Responses to Luxury Brands
(A2026-132886)

AUTHORS

Shuang Wu, University of Leeds; Matthias Glaser, University of Salzburg

ABSTRACT

While environmental sustainability of brands is often a characteristic desired by consumers, literature suggests that a commitment to environmental sustainability can backfire for luxury perceptions and attitudes toward a brand. We identify the type of green advertising as a decisive factor for consumer responses that determine brand attitude. In two experiments, the effectiveness of the two dominant types of luxury green advertising, product-focused and cause-focused green luxury advertising are compared, suggesting that green advertising is not disadvantageous for luxury brands, and that cause-focused green advertising is the most effective. The studies show that compared to product-focused green advertising, cause-focused green advertising increases warm glow and in turn luxury perceptions, which results in higher brand attitude overall.