Issue Summary
March 2026 (Vol. 66, Issue 1)
The 2026 JAR Research Priorities List: A Research Agenda for Advertising in the Age of AI
In the March issue, JAR Editor-in-Chief Colin Campbell introduces the 2026 JAR Research Priorities List, outlining key questions for advertising research as artificial intelligence reshapes the industry. As generative tools make it easier for brands of any size to produce polished, technically competent ads, Campbell argues that execution quality is becoming less of a competitive advantage. The challenge for advertisers is shifting from simply making better ads to making meaningfully different ones. He also highlights growing consumer skepticism in an era of synthetic media, the role AI systems play in mediating how consumers discover brands, and new questions about loyalty, measurement and effectiveness when AI increasingly filters, summarizes or even makes decisions on consumers’ behalf. Campbell calls for research that connects these structural changes to practical advertiser decisions that helps the industry navigate advertising in an AI-mediated marketplace.
When Influencer Size and Message Style Work Best Together
Does a larger follower count make influencers more persuasive? This research argues that the answer depends on how consumers psychologically construe the message. Drawing on construal-level theory, the authors show that an influencer’s follower size signals social distance—larger influencers feel more distant, while smaller influencers feel closer to audiences. Across secondary data and three experiments, the study finds that persuasion increases when this perceived distance matches the style and placement of the message. Influencers with smaller followings are more effective when posts clearly identify the brand (such as through brand tagging) and appear on the influencer’s own channel. In contrast, influencers with larger followings perform better when brand promotion is more subtle or appears on a brand-owned channel. The findings show that influencer effectiveness depends not simply on follower count, but on aligning the influencer’s perceived social distance with the level of message concreteness.
Understanding the Ecosystem Behind Virtual Influencers
As virtual influencers gain prominence in social media marketing, this study offers one of the first comprehensive frameworks explaining how the virtual influencer ecosystem works. Through a systematic literature review and thematic analysis, the authors map the key actors involved—including creators, visual artists, AI technologies, brands and external collaborators—and examine how their interactions shape the development and operation of virtual influencer brands. The research highlights that, unlike human influencers, virtual influencers are the product of coordinated efforts among multiple behind-the-scenes stakeholders, making collaborations more complex for brands. It also emphasizes that consumer responses to virtual influencers depend heavily on perceptions of authenticity, credibility and autonomy, which brands must actively support when designing campaigns. The framework provides a foundation for future research and offers guidance to marketers navigating the rapidly evolving world of AI-driven influencer marketing.
Why Timing Matters in LGBT+ Brand Activism
Many brands hesitate to publicly support LGBT+ causes because of the potential for backlash—but this research suggests that waiting may actually weaken consumer response. Across seven studies, including a 12-year analysis of real-world advertising data, a choice study and controlled experiments, the authors find that brands that support LGBT+ causes earlier rather than later generate more favorable consumer reactions. The effect occurs because early activism signals greater perceived effort and sincerity, leading consumers to view the brand’s support as more authentic rather than opportunistic. The advantage of early action is particularly strong for brands with greater financial resources, whose delayed participation may otherwise appear strategic rather than principled. For advertisers navigating socially charged issues, the findings highlight that timing itself can shape how brand activism is interpreted—and acting early may strengthen credibility and consumer support.
Why Virtual Influencers Generate Less Engagement—and When They Work Best
Virtual influencers are becoming a popular marketing tool, but do they engage consumers as effectively as human influencers? This research examines the role of envy, an emotion that often drives social media engagement. Across eight experiments, the authors find that consumers perceive virtual influencers as less deserving of their success, which reduces feelings of envy and ultimately leads to lower engagement and weaker brand outcomes compared with human influencers. However, the study also identifies an important boundary condition: virtual influencers perform better when promoting futuristic or technology-oriented products, where their artificial nature feels more appropriate and credible. In these contexts, perceived deservingness and envy increase, improving engagement and brand impact. The findings suggest that while virtual influencers offer creative flexibility and cost advantages, their effectiveness depends strongly on aligning them with brands and products that fit their high-tech identity.
Does Direct Mail Still Work in a Sustainability-Conscious World?
Despite the dominance of digital marketing, direct mail remains widely used—but its environmental footprint raises new questions about when it is truly effective. This research examines how marketing channel (direct mail vs. email) and organization type (nonprofit vs. for-profit) interact to shape consumer response. Across four studies, the authors find that direct mail is more effective than email for nonprofits, particularly in generating donations, because consumers view physical mail as a justified fundraising expense. For for-profit companies, however, direct mail offers no advantage and may even raise concerns about wasteful resource use. The research also finds that nonprofits focused on environmental or sustainability causes lose the benefit of direct mail because consumers hold them to stricter ecological standards. The findings highlight how consumer perceptions of resource responsibility and sustainability increasingly shape the effectiveness of traditional marketing channels.
When Fast Music Makes Ads More Persuasive—and When It Doesn’t
Researchers in this study analyzed 26,025 real-world video ads and conducted three controlled experiments to uncover when music tempo meaningfully shapes advertising effectiveness. The authors find a clear interaction between tempo and regulatory focus. Fast-tempo music significantly increases purchase intentions and willingness to pay for promotion-focused ads, which emphasize positive gains, because it heightens time pressure and pushes consumers toward quicker, more heuristic decision-making. In contrast, tempo has no significant effect on prevention-focused ads, which trigger more systematic, detail-oriented processing that dampens the influence of music. The evidence shows that the tempo effect emerges only once music becomes sufficiently fast. The study also illustrates how fast music boosts willingness to pay in promotion-focused ads but not prevention-focused ones. Finally, the research confirms that this effect operates through a serial pathway of increased time pressure and heuristic processing—not arousal. The findings give advertisers a practical rule: pair fast music with gain-framed, promotion-oriented content to boost ad impact, and rely less on music when communicating risk avoidance or reassurance.
Do Ads Trigger the Same Emotional Reactions Around the World?
Can advertisers rely on facial-expression analysis to measure emotional reactions across cultures? Using a large global dataset of more than 70,000 studies and 3.8 million frames of viewers’ facial responses to video advertising, this research finds strong evidence that certain facial expressions occur consistently across regions when audiences watch ads. The analysis reveals common expression patterns associated with basic emotions—such as happiness, disgust and surprise—that appear similarly across 12 geographic regions and align with the types of emotions different advertising categories are designed to evoke. The findings suggest that automated facial coding can be a useful tool for evaluating emotional responses to advertising across global audiences, although the authors recommend combining it with other research methods and cultural context when interpreting results.
Deepfake Advertising: Should Brands Present It as Real—or Reveal the Illusion?
As deepfake technology becomes more common in advertising, brands face an important communication choice: present the content as realistic or disclose that it is artificial. This study examines how different disclosure strategies shape consumer responses to deepfake ads. Across a series of experiments, the authors find that framing deepfakes as “fantasy” or clearly disclosing their artificial nature generally produces more favorable consumer reactions than presenting them as realistic depictions. When deepfakes are portrayed as real without clear disclosure, consumers are more likely to perceive the ad as deceptive, reducing trust and weakening brand evaluations. The findings suggest that transparency about synthetic media can help mitigate ethical concerns and maintain credibility, offering practical guidance for marketers navigating the growing use of AI-generated advertising.
How Product Size Relative to a Model Shapes Ad Effectiveness
A subtle design choice in advertising—whether a product appears larger or smaller than the model next to it—can influence how consumers evaluate the ad. This research examines how product–model relative size interacts with product category to shape consumer responses. Across three online experiments and a field study, the authors find that hedonic products (such as those associated with pleasure or enjoyment) perform better when the model appears larger than the product, whereas utilitarian products are evaluated more favorably when the product appears larger than the model. The effect occurs because these visual arrangements increase conceptual fluency, making the ad feel more natural and easier to process. The findings offer a simple but powerful creative guideline: aligning visual composition with the type of product can improve consumer evaluations and purchase intentions.
Why Some Companies Stay Quiet About Their Sustainability Efforts
As public scrutiny of corporate sustainability claims intensifies, some companies are choosing a different strategy: saying less. This study explores the emerging practice of “greenhushing,” in which organizations intentionally limit or avoid communicating their environmental initiatives. Through interviews with corporate leaders and sustainability professionals, the research identifies several drivers behind this behavior, including fears of public criticism, regulatory uncertainty, accusations of greenwashing and the difficulty of communicating complex sustainability progress. The findings show that while greenhushing may help companies avoid backlash, it can also reduce transparency and limit opportunities to build trust with stakeholders. The authors highlight the strategic tension organizations face as they navigate growing expectations for sustainability communication in an environment of heightened skepticism and scrutiny.
Are Devices Really Listening? Advertising Professionals Weigh In
Many consumers believe their phones or smart devices are listening to offline conversations to deliver targeted ads—but what do advertising professionals think? This study surveys industry practitioners to explore their views on conversation-related advertising, a phenomenon in which ads appear to reflect recent offline discussions. While most respondents believe it is technically possible for ads to be targeted based on offline conversations, there is no consensus about whether the practice occurs in the industry. Many professionals instead attribute these experiences to factors such as behavioral targeting based on prior online activity, predictive analytics, trending topics or confirmation bias that makes certain ads more noticeable. At the same time, respondents express concerns that if such practices were used, they could raise significant privacy, trust and transparency issues. The findings highlight the growing tension between advanced data-driven advertising capabilities and consumer perceptions of digital surveillance.