The Impact of Persuasive Advertising during the COVID-19 Outbreak on Consumers’ Views of Products or Services

The current study examined persuasive messaging in advertisements aired during the COVID-19 Pandemic and its impact on consumers’ views of the product or service. As suggested by Kinnick’s (2003) findings regarding advertising after the September 11th attacks, people may view commercials with persuasive messages that show support during a crisis more favorably than the commercials typically aired for that product.  This study expanded on that finding and hypothesized that the type persuasive messaging during times of crisis may also impact people’s emotions, perceptions of the message, and likelihood of purchase.  The study accomplished that through looking at participants’ ratings of visual appeal, liking, emotionality, persuasiveness, and likelihood of purchase. Sixty-six (52 females, 13 males, 1 agender) undergraduate students at Union College in Schenectady, NY served as the participants and were exposed to a 2(Commercial Group: Pre-COVID vs. COVID-19)X 4(Commercials: Coca-Cola™ vs. Burger King™ vs. Taco Bell™ vs. Target™) mixed design.  Participants were randomly assigned to watch commercials for the four companies that aired either before or during the pandemic.  The latter commercials stressed unity and togetherness whereas the former were typical ads for the company.  The results only supported part of the hypothesis in that people liked advertisements aired during the COVID-19 Pandemic, felt more emotional from them and viewed them as more persuasive for only the Target™ commercial.  Although this experiment may not be able to be replicated as it was time-sensitive as the pandemic and vaccine distribution are ongoing, the overall impact of COVID-19 on advertising for years to come will be a potential area of further research.