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The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of advertising variation and repetition strategies in the context of communicating about social issues in least developed countries (LDCs).

Study 1 used a between-subjects experimental study using 106 students which were exposed to either the varied advertising condition (a negative appeal followed by a positive appeal or vice versa) or repetition condition (two negative appeals). In Study 2, a total of 111 students from Tilburg University and 95 students from Addis Ababa University participated in the study. A random ordering of experimental envelopes assigned the students to one of the following message order conditions (negative appeal–positive appeal, negative appeal–negative appeal, positive appeal–positive appeal and positive appeal–negative appeal).

Study 1 shows that for many social issues, an advertising variation strategy (a negative appeal followed by a positive appeal) is more effective than an advertising repetition strategy (two negative appeals) in terms of recall. Study 2 builds on these findings by differentiating between taboo and non-taboo issues. This distinction is important because many social issues, such as HIV, domestic violence and child abuse, for instance, are taboo in LDCs. Interestingly, the findings of Study 1 are reproduced for non-taboo issues but not for taboo issues. If an issue is a conversational taboo in a certain culture, then an advertising repetition strategy that only uses positive appeals is more effective than an advertising variation strategy.

The use of students as participants may be a limitation of both studies. Because the reactions of students to specific message appeals may be age-related, concerns regarding the generalizability of the findings are justified.

Overall, the results of this paper provide useful information to social advertisers on when and how to use different types of advertising strategies in LDCs.

To date, the cultural and societal effects of controversial advertising have been insufficiently considered. This study aims to investigate how advertising that uses violent representations of women transgresses the taboo of gender-based violence.

This study encompasses a visual analysis of the subject positions of women in five violent advertising representations and a critical discourse analysis of the defensive statements provided by the client organisations subsequent to the public outrage generated by the campaigns.

The authors identify taboo transgression in the Tease, Piece of Meat and Conquered subject positions, wherein women are represented as suggestive, dehumanised and submissive. Client organisations seek to defend these taboo transgressions through the use of three discursive strategies – subverting interpretations, making authority claims and denying responsibility – which legitimise the control of the organisations but simultaneously work to obscure the power relations at play.

The representational authority that advertisers hold as cultural intermediaries in society highlights the need for greater consideration of the ethical responsibilities in producing controversial advertisements, especially those which undermine the status of women.

Controversial advertising that transgresses the taboo of violence against women reinforces gender norms and promotes ambiguous and adverse understandings of women’s subjectivities by introducing pollution and disorder to gender politics.

This paper critically assesses the societal implications of controversial advertising practices, thus moving away from the extant focus on managerial implications. Through a conceptualisation of controversial advertising as transgressing taboo boundaries, the authors highlight how advertising plays an important role in shifting these boundaries whereby taboos come to be understood as generative and evolving. However, this carries moral implications which may have damaging societal effects.

This paper aims to investigate the experience of darkness on people’s evaluation of humorous taboo-themed ads and their willingness to share these ads digitally with others.

Multiple studies are conducted to demonstrate the connection between darkness and humor. Another experiment was conducted to investigate people’s willingness to share taboo-themed ads.

The results demonstrate that people in dark settings (vs light) found controversial, taboo-themed ads to be more humorous. Three studies demonstrate that people in the dark (vs light) condition found taboo-themed ads to be more humorous. More importantly, despite finding taboo-themed ads to be more humorous, people in dark settings (vs light) were less inclined to share these ads on social media platforms.

When using humorous taboo-themed ads, advertisers are encouraged to show these ads in dark settings. If the physical environment is uncontrollable, marketers may still benefit by cueing consumers about darkness (e.g. through their products) or reminding them of nightly activities which may also yield similar effects. However, the cautionary tale is that, although people in the dark may enjoy these ads, they may not be willing to share it with others.

Marketers utilize taboo-themed ads to increase consumer interest. Despite its controversial content, darkness enhances people’s evaluation toward these taboo-themed ads. However, if one of the goals of advertisers is to create an ad that is amenable to sharing, developing a humorous taboo-themed ad may not be the most rewarding strategy.

To examine the key communicating factors which influence 12‐13 year old girls in their purchasing decisions for fashion clothing.

A series of four, structured focus group interviews, consisting of six girls, with questions developed after analysing the available literature. A qualitative method of data analysis was conducted based around five related themes and the “reflective stage”, 11‐16 years of John (1999).

This stage is highly fashion‐sensitive. The findings show the key decision factors when buying are parental and peer group approval, and the purchasing of fashion items is strongly influenced by brand name and its associations. The findings revealed the respondents were prepared to pay a premium for branded clothing, placing a high emphasis on the product being deemed cool.

The study utilises purely qualitative methods to explore the role of branding and purchasing influences from the perspective of these girls in order to gain a richer and deeper understanding of their behaviour. The findings provide the basis for further research into the buying behaviour of older girls.

The results of this study could be used by fashion retailers, marketers and their advertising agencies when planning a media campaign targeted at 12‐13 year old girls.

Understanding the importance of the selected themes can help fashion retailers study their consumers based on the key dimensions reported in this research and ensure that the key communication factors identified, are considered prior to developing a campaign for this target group.

The purpose of this paper is to fill a gap in the literature of taboo imagery in advertising by drawing on cognate disciplines to build a conceptual framework and identify the characteristics of taboo‐challenging advertisements and the audiences who react to them.

Data collected by 22 in‐depth individual qualitative interviews in Morocco and France were subjected to two‐stage formal content analysis.

This study reveals the importance of normative social influence, the properties of the taboo, contagion from the content of the ad to the brand and to customers, and ambivalent emotional reactions. The valence and the intensity of the responses to such advertising depend on personal, interpersonal and situational factors.

The conclusions are based on findings from a relatively small number of respondents reacting to one type of taboo only, but they offer a useful theoretical framework and an empirical basis for future research on the communication effects and effectiveness of taboo in advertising.

The study offers advertisers a better understanding of the factors and processes likely to influence consumers' reactions to the strategy of invoking taboo themes in advertising campaigns, with positive implications in terms of audience segmentation and media selection.

Despite the prevalence of “taboo advertising”, little research‐based analysis has so far been available to academics or practitioners.

The purpose of this study is to synthesize the existing research on Islam and advertising with the perspective of the Salafi authority of Saudi Arabia. This study is an exploration of the impact of the conservative interpretation of Islam on advertising.

This study critically reviews the literature on advertising in Islam, specifically in the context of the conservative religious Saudi Arabia, Islam and advertising and its connection with the interpretations of the religiously conservative segment of Saudi Arabian society. This systematic review covered 42 studies in Islamic advertising and Salafist/Hanbali jurisprudence, ranging from 1980 to 2014. These studies were validated through data triangulation using a meta-synthesis of 39 articles with 5 articles on Salafism and 5 Hanbali juristic texts.

The investigation concludes that there are several factors to be considered when developing advertising messages and content for the conservative segment of Islam. The considerations are as follows: (C1) avoidance of Islamic creedal taboos and displays of immorality; (C2) avoiding usage of musical instruments and taboo entertainment; (C3) women must be dressed appropriately, and gender roles must be in conjunction with Islamic texts; and (C4) avoiding deceptive marketing, defaming competition, and ambiguous transactions. Although there was a general consensus on C1 and C3, few studies discussed C2 and C4. Hanbali jurisprudence, the official school of thought in Saudi Arabia, was found to be in agreement with all four considerations. Additionally, the study synthesizes previous studies and contributes more knowledge to the few existing literature on the topic of Islam and advertising. A better understanding of the conservative interpretation of Islam can contribute to scholarship in the field of Islamic marketing.

This paper was limited to the Salafist/Wahhabist interpretation of Islam based on Hanbali jurisprudence found in Saudi Arabia. The findings of this paper can be extended and validated through studying the attitudes of Salafists in different regions toward advertising messages and content.

This paper was limited to the Salafist/Wahhabist interpretation of Islam based on Hanbali jurisprudence found in Saudi Arabia. The findings of this paper can be extended and validated through studying the attitudes of Salafists in different regions toward advertising messages and content.

This study adds to the limited research on Islamic attitudes and challenges toward advertising in the Middle East. The study reviews existing research and utilizes religious rulings to research the conservative Islamic perspective of advertising.

The purpose of this research is to explore the reasons for brand avoidance among Generation Y consumers. Researchers have traditionally focused on the positive relationship between consumers and brands, but, increasingly, consumers are consciously avoiding brands.

A qualitative study consisting of both focus groups and interviews was conducted among Generation Y participants.

The findings support previous research that identifies four types of brand avoidance, namely, experiential, identity, moral and deficit-value avoidance. However, the study also suggests that an additional type of brand avoidance, namely, advertising avoidance, also occurs. Aspects of advertising that can contribute to brand avoidance include the content of the advertising, the use of a celebrity endorser and the music in the advertising, as well as the response to the advertising. This study thus proposes an expanded framework of brand avoidance.

This study has found support for the existing types and reasons impacting brand avoidance but suggests that advertising may also impact brand avoidance. This is an aspect that requires further research.

For marketing managers, the findings suggest that not only can product experiences result in brand avoidance, but that advertising may be a further reason for this phenomenon.

While there has been a great deal of attention on the positive aspects of brands, research on the negative aspects has largely been ignored. Further, the identification of advertising as a reason for brand avoidance is also suggested.

This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of the Marketing Intelligence & Planning is split into seven sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Marketing Strategy; Customer Service; Sales Management; Promotion; Marketing Research/Customer Behaviour; Product Management; Logistics and Distribution and Sundry.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of religious sect on the Lebanese consumer’s perception of controversial product advertisements.

The study used a quantitative survey that was administered to a purposive representative sample of respondents from the two main Muslim sects in the country, namely, Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

The results indicated significant differences in perceptions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims with regards to the offensiveness of the advertising of controversial products. Briefly, Sunni Muslims found the advertising of social and political as well as health and care products more offensive, whereas Shiite Muslims found the advertising of gender and sex-related products more offensive, and no significant difference in offensiveness perception between the two sects was found with regards to the advertising of addictive products.

Two main limitations faced the researchers: the fact that the respondents were not shown examples of offensive product advertisements; and that religiosity was not measured for the respondents, which could also be a factor in offensiveness perception.

The study indicates that a consumer’s religious sect can play a determining role in how he/she perceives product advertisement, thus encouraging marketers to consider the differences between these sects while advertising to ensure no potential consumers are alienated.

Although research has looked into the impact of religiosity and religion on the perception of offensive product advertisements, minimal research exists on the impact of religious sects on the perception of offensive product advertisement. The results of this study provide some insights into the consumer behavior differences between the two sects.

This study aims to examine how exposure to female models in advertisements can create identity tensions in senior women and how they manage the comparison and develop different adaptation strategies to deal with these tensions.

This research is based on a qualitative approach involving 27 in-depth interviews with French women aged 60 to 79. Photo-elicitation with choice of models as reference points by respondents was used to capture comparison strategies with regard to models.

Interviews with senior women confirm that identity tensions due to appearance arise in the context of ageing, particularly when senior women are faced with advertising models. Three reactions of senior women to identity tensions are described, namely, avoiding comparison to protect the self, engaging in comparison despite its resulting devaluation of the self, proceeding to a positive comparison that reinforces their identity. This paper finds that comparison modalities are specific to each strategy.

This research opens the way to further investigation, especially with regard to understanding social comparison mechanisms in an advertising context for senior women targets.

This paper raises awareness of the effects of senior women’s exposure to advertising on their self-perception in the context of ageing. It provides practical guidance to advertising professionals on the use of models in ads when targeting senior women and helps marketing managers in their communication strategies.

This research reveals pronounced identity tensions in relation to appearance among senior women in the context of advertising exposure. By providing more diverse models, advertising representations could help to improve the identity perceptions of senior women.

Very few studies have hitherto investigated identity effects on senior female consumers of female model usage in advertising.