Should Green Products Be Advertised as Green? Exploring the Factors That Affect Ad Credibility

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has marked key milestones including a transition to sustainable consumption. Eco-brands could exploit this conjuncture to advertise their products while pondering how green ad claims are judged as misleading, unsubstantiated, and opportunistic, but also useful and efficient. This study revises the notion that green consumers distrust green advertising by analyzing how green consumerism, conceptualized as a hierarchical construct, moderates the effect of three factors on the credibility of green advertising. An experiment involving the ad claim, product type, and familiarity with the eco-brand was performed in the context of an emerging economy. The statistical analyses show complex interrelationships between the experimental factors and cross effects between factors and the dimensions of green consumerism. Results indicate that eco-brand familiarity increases green ad credibility for products that were designed and launched as green (e.g., hybrid cars and tissue paper) while the type of ad claim (environmental vs. self-benefit) has no significant effect if the product is recognized as green. Results also indicate that of the three dimensions comprising green consumerism, only green purchasing has a direct negative effect on ad credibility. This effect is stronger for low-cost goods whose environmental benefits against regular products are easier to confirm.