Are guilt appeals a panacea in green advertising?

Abstract

This research examines guilt appeals in green advertising by clarifying moderating roles of issue proximity and environmental consciousness. Advantageous effects of guilt appeals are produced in two contexts: promoting a highly proximal issue to consumers with weak environmental consciousness or promoting a less proximal issue to those with strong environmental consciousness. Guilt appeals are no more effective than non-guilt appeals when a low-proximity issue is presented to individuals with weak environmental consciousness. Guilt appeals backfire when promoting a high-proximity issue to highly conscious individuals. The implications of these findings are discussed, as are the limitations and directions for future research.