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This paper aims to investigate whether portrayals of homosexuality in advertising can generate social effects in terms of consumer-perceived social connectedness and empathy.

In three experimental studies, the effects of advertising portrayals of homosexuality were compared to advertising portrayals of heterosexuality. Study 1 uses a thought-listing exercise to explore whether portrayals of homosexuality (vs heterosexuality) can evoke more other-related thoughts and whether such portrayals affect consumer-perceived social connectedness and empathy. Study 2 replicates the findings while introducing attitudes toward homosexuality as a boundary condition and measuring traditional advertising effects. Study 3 replicates the findings while controlling for gender, perceived similarity and targetedness.

The results show that portrayals of homosexuality in advertising can prime consumers to think about other people, thereby affecting them socially. In line with previous studies of portrayals of homosexuality in advertising, these effects are moderated by attitudes toward homosexuality.

This paper adds to a growing body of literature on the potentially positive extended effects of advertising. They also challenge some of the previous findings regarding homosexuality in advertising.

The finding that portrayals of homosexuality in advertising can (at least, temporarily) affect consumers socially in terms of social connectedness and empathy should encourage marketers to explore the possibilities of creating advertising that benefits consumers and brands alike.

The paper challenges the idea that the extended effects of advertising have to be negative. By showing how portrayals of homosexuality can increase social connectedness and empathy, it adds to the discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of advertising on a societal level.

This paper aims to investigate cross-gender effects of gender stereotypes in advertising. More specifically, it proposes that the negative effects found in studies of women’s reactions to stereotyped female portrayals should hold across gender portrayal and target audience gender.

In two experimental studies, the effects of stereotyped portrayals (vs non-stereotyped portrayals) across gender are compared.

The results show that advertising portrayals of women and men have a presumed negative influence on others, leading to higher levels of ad reactance, which has a negative impact on brand-related effects across model and participant gender, and for gender stereotypes in terms of physical characteristics and roles.

Whereas previous studies have focused on reactions of women to female stereotypes, the current paper suggests that women and men alike react negatively to stereotyped portrayals of other genders.

The results indicate that marketers can benefit from adapting a more mindful approach to the portrayals of gender used in advertising.

The addition of a cross-gender perspective to the literature on gender stereotypes in advertising is a key contribution to this literature.

The purpose of this paper is to test the consumer‐perceived value of non‐traditional media, and the moderating effects of brand reputation, appropriateness and expense.

The approach takes the form of an experimental study of six (real) campaigns, manipulating media type and brand reputation (with appropriateness and expense measured within subjects).

Non‐traditional media enhance consumer‐perceived value. The effects are greater for low‐ than for high‐reputation brands. High‐reputation brands are more sensitive to the appropriateness and expense of the marketing. Consumer‐perceived value leads to higher purchase and word‐of‐mouth intentions.

The analysis of the mediating effects of consumer‐perceived value is exploratory and requires follow‐up. Being a first test of the effects of non‐traditional media, no discrimination was made between different types. This requires further attention.

The paper shows that non‐traditional media enhance the consumer‐perceived value of marketing, and suggests that consumer‐perceived value is important in generating purchase and word‐of‐mouth intentions. The approach also gives advice with respect to brand reputation, budget (expense) and appropriateness of marketing.

The paper is a first academic test of non‐traditional media/guerrilla marketing; it argues that marketing must generate consumer‐perceived value in order to be successful and finds support for this; and employs previously neglected (but highly current) variables such as appropriateness and expense. The paper is valuable in its high action‐orientation.

Reports on an experimental study where the effects of ad‐brand incongruency on a familiar brand and an unfamiliar brand, respectively, are measured. Building on theory on information incongruency, tests the notion that ads that are incongruent with the brand image may be more effective in raising brand interest and brand memorability. However, this depends on the familiarity of the brand: the incongruency reinforces the existing associations for a familiar brand by increasing elaboration of the brand message, whereas the incongruent associations may take the upper hand for an unfamiliar brand with weaker existing associations. The results show that ad‐brand incongruency enhances brand attitude and brand memorability and reduces ad memorability for the familiar brand. The only significant effect of ad‐brand incongruency for the unfamiliar brand is a reduced brand memorability.

This paper aims to investigate how marketing leakage to undesired audiences, a common phenomenon in today's globally connected world of consumers, impacts on the target audience, and how marketers can mitigate the negative effects of leaked marketing.

The authors conduct three studies in line with research on the third-person effect (TPE). The studies feature experimental designs with participants from neighbouring countries.

The first study finds that people in the intended target audience expect and overestimate a (negative) reaction in the undesired audience to marketing leakage, and this impacts negatively on their own reactions. The second study replicates and extends the findings, showing that explicit information that marketing has leaked to an undesired audience impacts negatively on both the attitudes and behaviors of the intended, target audience. The third study tests potential strategies to mitigate the negative effects of leaked marketing and finds that the most important thing is to inform the intended target audience that the undesired audience has accepted the marketer's actions.

Extending the TPE to marketing, this is, to the authors' knowledge, a first investigation of the previously neglected phenomenon of marketing leakage and the impact of undesired audiences on marketing effectiveness. It hopes to stimulate further research on consequences of marketing leakage and enrich research on international advertising and crisis management.

This is, to the authors' knowledge, the first inquiry into how and why marketing leakage to undesired audiences impacts on the intended target audience, and how negative effects can be mitigated. The original use of a third-person approach in this setting helps explain marketing effectiveness and assess managerial strategies.

This paper seeks to examine whether violence embedded in stories in ads can contribute to advertising effectiveness along the same lines as well‐researched ad elements such as the celebrity endorser and the physically attractive ad model. More specifically, the paper aims to assess whether violent content in an ad story adds to excitement perceptions and to overall evaluations such as the attitude toward the ad and the attitude toward the advertised product.

The paper uses an experimental approach comprising two studies in which participants were randomly allocated to ads with different levels of violence in an ad story.

The main finding is that representations of real violence (as opposed to staged violence) produced higher levels of excitement, attitude toward the story, attitude toward the ad, and attitude toward the advertised product compared with no violence. Such effects, however, were moderated by the level of congruence between the ad story and the advertised product; the highest response levels were obtained for ads with violent story content dealing explicitly with the advertised product.

The finding that violent stories in ads can have a positive charge is consonant with the assumption that violence is a narrative device that may heighten the excitement created by a story. It is also in accord with the observation that many consumers appear to relish stories with a violent content. Yet the main finding challenges existing research on violent ads in which violence consists of an image visually co‐exposed with a brand – and it questions the dominant approach in media violence research, which emphasizes the negative effects of media violence.

The purpose of this paper is to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Recent years have brought a massive growth in the social networking phenomenon. So much so that a seemingly ever‐increasing number of people now consider a regular fix of Facebook or Twitter to be a key part of their daily routine. Many organizations might frown upon employees relentlessly engaging in such activities. And with some justification too. There is a strong case for arguing that keeping oneself informed about the evolving thoughts of friends, acquaintances and celebrities detracts significantly from work matters in hand. But the more astute organizations will manage to look beyond this perceived threat to productivity and regard social media as a publicity vehicle of rich potential. Indeed, certain companies have already enjoyed massive sales boosts as a direct consequence of endorsement from blogs or other online communication channels.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.

The purpose of this paper is to apply pragmatism – a philosophy of science on the interplay of human actions and meaning – as a perspective for studying service research and practice, emphasizing the need to deal with dynamics and diversity to cope with service marketplace disruptions. This work focuses on customers (individuals or groups of individuals) as key marketplace stakeholders.

Pragmatism provides a foundation for theorizing about change by connecting human actors’ cognitive belief structures and their actions through a continuous learning process. This paper outlines how the key principles of pragmatism can advance service research and practice.

Adopting the key principles of pragmatism in service management directs attention to service market dynamics. Understanding customers’ everyday lives as the interplay of experiencing, knowing and acting reveals insights about the role of service in dynamic markets for the benefit of service research and practice.

The paper is a viewpoint to stimulate researchers’ reflections on often hidden core assumptions about service. Pragmatism provides a perspective on actors’ practical rationality and problem solving in dynamic settings. Along with its emphasis on a holistic understanding of customers’ lives, this perspective provides direction for future service research and practice. Further, conceptual development and empirical substantiation are encouraged.

By focusing on marketplace changes, this paper addresses management concerns for commercial and non-commercial organizations. Pragmatism encourages critical reflections on what companies are doing and why (the connection between actions and beliefs), revealing underlying beliefs and institutionalized industry practices that require modifications.

Pragmatism is an approach to service research and practice, irrespective of aggregation level and sector. Therefore, it can help stimulate societal welfare.

Pragmatism advances service research by delineating a holistic perspective on customers’ lives and providing a perspective for exploring and understanding dynamics and diversity in service markets.

Marketing literature views word-of-mouth (WOM) as unidirectional communication in which consumers transmit either positive or negative messages based on their consumption experiences. Becoming visible in online forums, however, are consumers who engage in WOM as part of interactions with other consumers. This article aims to investigate a phenomenon frequently occurring in these interactions: consumers who defend companies and brands against others' negative WOM.

The authors investigated the online defense phenomenon in its natural setting using an online ethnography, known as a netnography.

This study provides empirical evidence for the existence of six different defense styles, as well as details of the identified factors underlying consumers' choices of defense styles. Moreover, the authors' analysis highlights the different outcomes of various company- and brand-defending behaviors and illustrates that this consumer phenomenon can be effective in preventing the spread of negative WOM or in mitigating its impact.

Future research could benefit from further testing the effectiveness of the various defense styles as well as investigating how to stimulate this important buffer against negative WOM.

Companies are increasingly allocating resources to the monitoring of online conversations so as to be able to respond to criticisms in social media. The authors' findings indicate that other consumers frequently respond to these complaints before the companies do. These company and brand defenders could replace some of the resources companies currently devote to social media.

The present study identifies company and brand defending as a new WOM activity, thus extending the concept of WOM beyond praising and complaining. In addition, this study suggests that consumers who counter negative messages are not necessarily loyal, as previously assumed, but rather motivated by a sense of justice or a need for self-enhancement.