TY - JOUR
T1 - Depictions of self-inflicted versus blameless victims for nonprofits employing print advertisements
AU - Shanahan, Kevin J.
AU - Hopkins, Christopher D.
AU - Carlson, Les
AU - Raymond, Mary Anne
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Extant literature over the last couple of years has examined factors affecting donor proclivity to contribute to nonprofits. These studies focused on factors such as negative emotional response to the ad and perceived social responsibility of the sponsor on intent to donate to the sponsor, the use of implicature, and truth in advertising. Our research adds to this growing body of literature by investigating the effect of self-inflicted harm versus blameless victimization in nonprofit advertising (locus of control of the harm to the victim). We find that blameless victim portrayal results in higher negative emotional response to the public service announcement (PSA), perceived social responsibility of the sponsor, and willingness to donate to the sponsor of a PSA. Specifically, the use of blameless victims seems to have the added benefit of generating more positive perceptions of the sponsor, which, in turn, also leads to higher intentions to donate.
AB - Extant literature over the last couple of years has examined factors affecting donor proclivity to contribute to nonprofits. These studies focused on factors such as negative emotional response to the ad and perceived social responsibility of the sponsor on intent to donate to the sponsor, the use of implicature, and truth in advertising. Our research adds to this growing body of literature by investigating the effect of self-inflicted harm versus blameless victimization in nonprofit advertising (locus of control of the harm to the victim). We find that blameless victim portrayal results in higher negative emotional response to the public service announcement (PSA), perceived social responsibility of the sponsor, and willingness to donate to the sponsor of a PSA. Specifically, the use of blameless victims seems to have the added benefit of generating more positive perceptions of the sponsor, which, in turn, also leads to higher intentions to donate.
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U2 - 10.2753/JOA0091-3367410304
DO - 10.2753/JOA0091-3367410304
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84876761422
SN - 0091-3367
VL - 41
SP - 55
EP - 74
JO - Journal of Advertising
JF - Journal of Advertising
IS - 3
ER -