JAR Inside the Research Podcast

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In this episode, guest interviewer Dr. Steven Park (Queen Mary University of London) speaks with Jia Heng Li and Professor Tae Hyun Baek (both Sungkyunkwan University) to discuss their article, "Consumer Responses to LGBTQ-Themed Advertising: A Computational Analysis of YouTube Comments," coauthored with Minseong Kim (Louisiana State University Shreveport), just published in the June 2026 issue of JAR.

Jia Heng explains how the study moves beyond the surveys and experiments that dominate research on LGBTQ-themed advertising by analyzing what consumers naturally say online. Using computational text mining of more than 20,000 YouTube comments on LGBTQ-themed ads, the authors identify six key topics of conversation, from LGBTQ celebrations and family values to drag culture, brand activism, and gender roles. The headline finding is that overall sentiment is more positive than many might expect, with themes of pride, inclusion, and family associated with emotions like joy and trust. But responses are far from uniform: drag culture and brand activism generate polarized reactions, driven by discomfort with nontraditional gender expressions and skepticism about corporate authenticity. Crucially, consumers aren't just reacting to the ad itself. They're evaluating the brand behind it, questioning whether its support reflects genuine values or "rainbow-washing."

The practical takeaways for advertisers are threefold: treat inclusion as a long-term commitment rather than a one-off campaign, recognize that different forms of LGBTQ representation call for different communication strategies, and mine the comment section, which often reveals more than views and engagement metrics ever could. The discussion also digs into the challenge of interpreting sarcasm and irony in online comments, why the authors paired computational analysis with extensive manual validation, and where this research should go next, from cross-platform comparisons to cross-cultural work.

Read the full paper here: https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2554437

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In this episode, we speak with Matthew Pittman (University of Tennessee) to discuss his article, "Green Demarketing to Nongreen Consumers: Individuals With Low Environmental Concern Don't Believe Messages to 'Buy Less'," coauthored with Tyler Milfeld (Villanova University) and Eric Haley (University of Tennessee), just published in the June 2026 issue of JAR.

Matthew explains what green demarketing is: a more progressive form of green advertising that urges consumers to buy less of anything, made famous by Patagonia's "Don't Buy This Jacket" campaign. Drawing on two online experiments and a real-world Instagram field experiment, the first to test demarketing in a social media field setting, Matthew unpacks how and when "buy less" appeals backfire. The headline finding is that green demarketing generates lower purchase intentions than traditional green advertising and the mechanism is sequential: consumers first judge the source as less credible, which in turn makes the message less believable. Crucially, this effect is driven by consumers with low environmental concern. Highly green consumers respond just as well to demarketing as they do to conventional green appeals.

The practical takeaway for advertisers is to try and gauge your audience's level of environmental concern and to recognize that "don't buy" messages only land when a brand has built up the environmental credibility, as Patagonia has, to back them up. Our discussion also digs into the field experiment, including the creative challenge of targeting nongreen consumers on social media when ad platforms only let you target what people like, not what they dislike. 

Read the full paper here: https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2582341

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In this episode, Vincent Huang (Hong Kong Baptist University) sits down with Dominic Yeo (Hong Kong Baptist University) to discuss Dominic's Journal of Advertising Research article, "How Persuasive Is Personalized Advertising? A Meta-Analytic Review of Experimental Evidence of the Effects of Personalization on Ad Effectiveness," coauthored with Tsz Hang Chu (Hong Kong Shue Yan University) and Qiqi Li (Hong Kong Baptist University), recently named runner-up for JAR's Best Paper of 2025. 

Dominic explains why personalized advertising actually works, and why the "creepiness factor" we often associate with it may matter less than we think. Drawing on a meta-analysis of 53 experimental studies and nearly 12,000 participants, Dominic and his coauthors directly compare personalized and non-personalized ads across consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions. The headline finding is that personalization is, on average, more persuasive than generic advertising, and the mechanism behind that effect is perceived relevance rather than reduced intrusiveness. In fact, personalization did not significantly increase perceived intrusiveness at all, suggesting that the benefits of feeling understood tend to outweigh the costs of feeling watched.

Vincent and Dominic also dig into a key boundary condition that emerged from the moderator analysis: actual personalization based on real participant data is far more effective than scenario-based, imagined personalization, and covert personalization (think behavioral targeting based on browsing history) tends to outperform overt personalization (like inserting a consumer's first name into an ad). The practical takeaway for advertisers is to keep investing in personalization, but to do it with relevance, not gimmickry, in mind. 

Read the full paper here: https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2467763

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In this episode, Andrea Godfrey Flynn (University of San Diego) joins me to discuss her Journal of Advertising Research article, "The Influence of Perceived Truth of Campaign Messages on Vote Choice: Does Truth Matter When Industries Battle Opponents Over Policy Issues?" coauthored with Kathleen Seiders (Boston College).

Andrea explains why perceived truth matters in political advertising — but not in a simple, uniform way. Drawing on two-wave longitudinal surveys of California voters across three high-stakes ballot measure campaigns in 2018 and 2020, she and Kathleen examine how voters' beliefs about the truthfulness of campaign messages from both the industry side and the opposing coalition side shape actual vote choice. The core finding is that truth does still matter in an era of widespread skepticism about misinformation, but its impact is conditional: conservative-leaning voters are most responsive to perceived truth in industry campaign messages, while liberal-leaning voters are most responsive to perceived truth in opponent campaign messages, consistent with longstanding partisan attitudes toward business.

We also discuss the powerful role of political party endorsements as a second boundary condition. When one party officially endorses the industry side, it is actually the other party's voters who place the greatest weight on perceived truth in their vote decision, a finding with real strategic implications. The practical takeaway is that campaigns should think carefully about both audience targeting and the endorsement landscape. Emphasizing message truthfulness, backing claims with transparent and independent evidence, and avoiding demonization of the opposing side can all help campaigns win support from voters who might otherwise lean the other way. 

Read the full paper here: 
https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2464295

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In this episode, Laura Lavertu (Grenoble Ecole de Management) joins me to discuss her Journal of Advertising Research article, “Petfluencers, the Fur-Mula for Sincere Endorsements: Examining How and When Pets Exhibit Greater Persuasion as Influencers,” coauthored with Katina Kulow (University of Louisville), Kirsten Cowan (University of Edinburgh), and Ben Marder (University of Edinburgh).

Laura explains why petfluencers can sometimes outperform human influencers. Across four studies, including a field study and lab experiments, their research shows that petfluencers can increase engagement and willingness to pay because they are perceived as more sincere. The core idea is that audiences attribute fewer self-interested motives to pets, which helps sponsored posts feel more genuine in an era of influencer fatigue.

We also discuss when this effect is strongest. The findings suggest that petfluencer content works best when the message framing matches consumers’ mindset, particularly around temporal focus. When consumers are in a more present-oriented, concrete mindset, present-focused messaging can amplify petfluencers’ persuasive advantage. The practical takeaway is that petfluencers are not just a novelty tactic. They can be a strategic substitute when sincerity is the constraint, especially if the creative execution reinforces immediacy and reduces psychological distance.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2463707

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In this episode, Tyler Milfeld (Villanova University) joins me, along with Courtney B. Peters (Samford University) and Jennifer H. Tatara (DePaul University), to discuss their Journal of Advertising Research article, “Fueling or Suppressing Brand Activism Backlash: How Message Type Differentially Influences Perceived Hypocrisy and Consumer Attitudes.”

Tyler, Courtney, and Jennifer examine what brands should say, or avoid saying, when a sociopolitical stance triggers backlash. Across three experiments using real brands and salient issues, their research shows that a common real-world response, retraction, often backfires. Retraction increases perceived hypocrisy among people who supported the brand’s original stance, which then lowers brand attitudes. Among people who did not support the stance, retraction does little to improve perceptions.

We also discuss what can mitigate the damage when a retraction is unavoidable. Pairing the retraction with a safety-based justification can reduce the hypocrisy penalty among high-support consumers. The broader takeaway is that backlash is not a standard crisis and response strategies should be chosen based on what the message signals about consistency, motives, and who you risk alienating.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2458370

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In this episode, Heesoo Kim (University of Oregon) joins me to discuss her Journal of Advertising Research article, “Using Unfamiliar Cues to Engage Multitasking Audiences: Giving Attentional Breakthrough,” coauthored with Hongsik John Cheon (Soongsil University).

Heesoo and I explore how advertisers can earn an “attentional breakthrough” when audiences are multitasking across screens. Across four studies, the research shows that embedding an unfamiliar cue, like a scientific or technical term, can trigger selective attention and deeper processing, but mainly when people’s second-screen activity is congruent with the ad, such as looking up the unfamiliar term while watching. Under those congruent multitasking conditions, unfamiliar cues improve ad recall. Under incongruent multitasking, the benefit disappears.

We also discuss the practical playbook. The takeaway is not “add jargon,” but “add a curiosity spark” that reliably converts distraction into relevant second-screen behavior. For marketers, that means designing unfamiliar cues that create a clean information gap, making it easy for consumers to resolve that gap in the moment, and ensuring the second-screen path reinforces the brand and the core message rather than pulling attention away from it.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2470510

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In this episode, Shuyu Lei (Nankai University) joins us for a conversation led by Shan Jian (PhD Candidate, Nankai University) to discuss her Journal of Advertising Research article, “How Music Tempo Influences Consumer Preferences for Advertising with Different Regulatory Focuses: Shopping in Jumping Tempo,” coauthored with Qi Wu (Nankai University) and Jiangang Du (Nankai University).

Shuyu and Shan unpack when fast versus slow background music helps video ads perform better. Using a large-scale analysis of 26,025 video ads plus three experiments, the research shows a clear interaction: fast-tempo (vs. slow-tempo) music increases purchase intentions for promotion-focused ads, while tempo has no meaningful effect for prevention-focused ads.

They also discuss why the effect emerges, focusing on time pressure and the decision-making strategies consumers adopt. The practical takeaway is that tempo is not a universal “make it upbeat” lever. It works best when it fits the ad’s motivational framing, especially when the message is about gains, advancement, and positive outcomes.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2464277

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In this episode, Wei-Fen Chen (Lecturer in Marketing, University of Leicester School of Business) joins me to discuss her Journal of Advertising Research article, “When to Appeal to Cultural Capital in Advertisements: Cultural Capital Appeals Increase Purchase Intentions for High- but Not Low-Priced Products,” coauthored with Xue Wang (Assistant Professor, Business School, Beijing Normal University) and Chenyang Shao (Doctoral Student, Business School, Beijing Normal University).

Wei-Fen and I explore how invoking cultural sophistication in ads—through references to art, heritage, or refined taste—can strengthen purchase intent, but only for higher-priced products. Across three studies spanning categories from wine and bottled water to face masks, the team finds that when cultural capital cues align with economic signals, consumers process the ad more fluently and respond more positively. For low-priced products, though, these appeals backfire or fail to move the needle.

We also discuss how this research clarifies when marketers should use cultural capital storytelling, why pricing strategy matters more than demographic targeting, and how brand tiers can selectively apply these cues to premium lines.

Read the full paper here:
https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.2025.2464291

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Do consumers respond differently to AI avatars that look human versus those that look cartoon-like? In this episode, June-Ho Chung (Inha University) and Sungjun “Steven” Park (Queen Mary University of London; National Chengchi University) join me to discuss their Journal of Advertising Research article, Designing AI Agents for New Product Endorsement: Do Human-Like or Cartoon-Like AI-Generated Endorsers Evoke More Positive Ad Engagement from Consumers? The article is co-authored with Yiting (Tami) Chu (National Chengchi University). 

We talk about why human-like AI avatars tend to generate stronger engagement and positive emotions, especially when promoting new or unfamiliar products. June-Ho and Steven walk through controlled experiments that compare human-like and cartoon-style endorsers across preference, emotions, and ad engagement. We discuss why familiarity with faces can shape reactions and when a simpler, cartoon style may still fit the brief. Finally, we translate the findings into practical guidance for creative teams choosing avatar style for new product ads.

Read the full paper here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00218499.2025.2497615

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