Turning point in green advertising: Do brands become greener than their consumers?

Abstract

Since the first special issue on green advertising was published in 1995 by the Journal of advertising, the discipline has been defined and grown. Yet obstacles, like the denunciation of greenwashing or the reluctant consumer, have still not been resolved. Based on conclusions from the second special issue on green advertising published in 2012, this paper suggests the discipline should merge with CSR in order to tackle said obstacles. This is not only suggested to benefit the discipline of green advertising, but also to unlock its transformational power in society on environmentally oriented consumption behaviour. The hypothesis is made that consumers do not use their power regarding environmentally friendly consumption, although having started the green movement which gave way to green advertising. CSR on the other hand shows accountable actions by brands to contribute to society and the environment and might have surpassed the consumer’s effort to contribute to environmental issues.