EFFECT OF THREATENING/HUMOROUS TELEVISION ADVERTISING ON CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOURAL INTENTION TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR ENVIRONMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58885/ijbe.v10i1.125.ddKeywords:
Ecological behaviour, Advertising, threatening advertising, humorous advertising, children's behavioural intention.Abstract
Most research on ecological consumer sensitivity has focused on adults, leaving children’s perceptions and behaviours toward environmental issues largely underexplored. Yet, as today’s children are tomorrow’s adults, it is crucial to examine how they develop pro-environmental behavioural intentions. The objective of this study is therefore to analyse the influence of ecological television advertising on children aged 8 to 12, by comparing two persuasive approaches: fear and humour.
An experimental study was conducted with a sample of 270 schoolchildren, who were exposed to two ecological television advertisements, one threatening and the other humorous. Data were collected through validated measurement scales and analysed using logistic regression with the Binary Logit Model, in order to estimate the probability of children adopting environmentally responsible behavioural intentions after exposure.
The findings demonstrate that children primarily process advertising messages on an affective level. Humorous ecological advertisements are more effective than threatening ones in fostering pro-environmental behavioural intentions, as they influence both emotional reactions and beliefs. In contrast, threatening appeals work mainly through negative emotions, with limited impact on beliefs.
This study contributes to the literature on green marketing and child consumer behaviour by highlighting the role of emotions and beliefs in ecological socialisation. From a managerial perspective, the results suggest that educators, policymakers, and communication specialists should prioritise humorous, engaging ecological campaigns in order to effectively raise children’s awareness and foster sustainable habits from an early age.
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