Peter R. Darke and Robin J.B. Ritchie
Executive Summary
Deceptive advertising has long been condemned as unethical and harmful to consumers. This research makes a strong case that it is also bad for marketers. In four experiments, the authors show that advertising deception makes consumers defensive toward marketing messages, causing them to distrust advertising in general. Being misled by an advertisement leads consumers to respond negatively not only to further advertising from the same deceptive source but also to advertising from other marketers. These effects are broad in their impact and generalize to advertisers from different geographic regions, different kinds of products, and different types of advertising claims. They are also powerful in that deceptive advertising undermines the effectiveness of subsequent marketing communications, even when the advertised product offers strong benefits or carries a well-known brand. The negative effects of ad deception are also relatively long lasting in the sense that they are observed for additional advertisements encountered 24 hours after the initial deception.
The authors find that advertising deception evokes self-protective goals, motivating people to minimize the possibility of being fooled again. This occurs through two distinct processes. First, when exposed to new advertisements from the source that previously deceived them, consumers actively counterargue the advertiser’s claims (biased systematic processing). Second, when the new advertisements come from another marketer, deception operates by activating negative stereotypes about advertising in general, which reduces the persuasive impact of subsequent advertisements (biased heuristic processing).
The effects observed in this research suggest that deceptive advertising has the potential to be damaging to advertising in general and, by extension, to firms that rely heavily on advertising to sell their products. The findings make it clear that marketers have a powerful self-interest in upholding truth in advertising, not merely out of concern for fairness to consumers but also as a means of preserving the effectiveness of marketing communication as a whole.
Biography
Peter R. Darke received his doctoral degree from the University of Toronto. He is Finning Ltd. Associate Professor of Marketing in the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia and is Assistant Professor of Marketing in the College of Business at Florida State University. His current work focuses on consumer attitudes, judgment, and decision making. His articles have been published in Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Economic Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Research in Personality, Marketing Letters, and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
Robin J.B. Ritchie received his doctoral degree from the University of British Columbia. He is currently Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. His research examines the role of trust in consumer behavior and its role in consumer acceptance of advertising claims. His work has been published in Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, and Tourism Management.
Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. XLIV, No. 1, February 2007
View Table of Contents.