Issue Summary
September 2026 (Vol. 66, Issue 3)
Editor’s Desk
Creativity Was Never the Ad
In the September issue, JAR Editor-in-Chief Colin Campbell examines how generative AI is changing our understanding of advertising creativity. Rather than viewing creativity as a single quality, Campbell argues that it has always combined four distinct contributions: the idea, the craft of execution, the taste to recognize the strongest of all options and the nerve to approve and run something unusual. As AI makes polished execution and large-scale idea generation increasingly accessible, taste and human judgment may become more valuable, while continuous testing could push brands toward safer, more conventional work. Campbell argues that this “unbundling” gives researchers a rare opportunity to determine which elements actually drive the effectiveness of creative advertising and encourages brands to consider where their own creative advantage truly lies. Ultimately, AI may not diminish the value of human creativity so much as reveal where that value has resided all along.
Read the full editorial.
When In-Feed Ads Carry a Location Tag: The Effectiveness of Local In-Feed Ads on Offline and Mobile Sales
As location-based advertising becomes increasingly sophisticated, marketers need to understand not only whether these ads drive sales, but where those sales occur. This study examines the cross-channel effects of local in-feed advertising featuring a location tag indicating that a promoted store is within three kilometers of the consumer. Using daily sales data from a Chinese quick-service restaurant chain and comparing three stores exposed to the advertising with 26 control stores, the researchers find that local in-feed ads increase offline sales but reduce sales through the mobile channel. The strength of these effects also varies depending on store characteristics, including store age and the volume of customer reviews. The findings suggest that location-tagged in-feed advertising can effectively encourage consumers to visit nearby physical locations but may also shift purchases away from mobile channels. For marketers, the research highlights the importance of evaluating location-based advertising across the entire sales ecosystem—and selecting the right stores for these campaigns—rather than judging effectiveness through a single channel alone.
Consumer Engagement With AI-Powered Search Engines: Implications for the Future of Search Advertising Research and Practice
As AI-powered search engines become a growing alternative to traditional search, understanding when and how consumers use them has important implications for advertisers. Using an online observation method, this study examines consumers’ choices between AI-powered and traditional search engines, their motivations for using each and how their search behavior differs across platforms. The researchers find that consumers still rely more heavily on traditional search engines but turn to AI-powered search more often when seeking advice and use more elaborate, detailed queries on these platforms. The findings suggest that AI search may increasingly compete with traditional search for complex, long-tail queries while also creating new opportunities for advertisers to reach consumers during advice-seeking moments. For marketers, the research points to a changing search landscape in which strategies such as generative engine optimization, content designed to surface in AI-generated responses and new approaches to sponsored placements, may become increasingly important alongside traditional search advertising.
Human vs. AI Influencer Marketing on Instagram: The Role of Message Appeals and Perceived Humanness
As AI-generated influencers become more common on social media, brands face a new question: when might an AI influencer be more persuasive than a human one? Across two studies, this research examines how influencer type, advertising message and perceived humanness shape consumer responses on Instagram. The authors find that human influencers are more effective for transformational advertising focused on experiences and emotional benefits, while AI influencers perform better with informational appeals, where their machine-like qualities can enhance credibility and purchase intentions. However, the distinction becomes less pronounced when AI influencers appear highly human-like: in transformational advertising, these AI influencers can perform as effectively as humans by creating stronger feelings of social presence and authenticity. For marketers, the findings suggest that choosing between human and AI influencers should depend not simply on the technology itself, but on the type of message being communicated and the degree of human connection the campaign needs to create.
Can Health-Focused Advertising Help Employees Limit Their Use of Information and Communication Technologies and Support Work-Life Balance? The Role of Message Framing, Regulatory Focus, and Regulatory Fit in Promoting Boundary-Setting Intentions
As constant connectivity makes it increasingly difficult for employees to separate work from their personal lives, this research examines whether advertising can encourage healthier boundaries around work-related technology use. Across two studies involving more than 900 working adults in Austria, the researchers find that health-focused advertising can increase employees’ intentions to disconnect from work, but message framing matters. Ads emphasizing the benefits of setting boundaries are generally more effective than messages stressing the negative consequences of staying connected, while neutral messages can also perform well. The research further finds that matching an ad’s framing with a situationally induced mindset can strengthen its effectiveness, particularly among employees who have weaker boundary-setting habits. For employers and communicators, the findings suggest that well-designed health messages delivered through internal communications, social media and other channels could provide a scalable way to encourage employees to disconnect, support work-life balance and promote well-being.
When Does Integrating Human Values in Brands’ Communications Lower Social Media Engagement?
Brands increasingly use social media to communicate their values and positions on social issues, but does more values-based messaging always lead to greater engagement? Analyzing 27,900 social media posts from 47 fashion, retail, sportswear and technology and electronics brands, this study examines how messages reflecting four categories of human values—conservation, self-transcendence, openness to change and self-enhancement—affect consumer engagement. The researchers find that greater emphasis on human values does not necessarily generate stronger responses, and effectiveness varies by the type of value, industry and the characteristics of the message. The effect is particularly notable for fashion brands, where engagement follows an inverted U-shaped pattern, suggesting audiences respond more favorably when values are incorporated more subtly rather than emphasized too heavily. For marketers, the findings challenge the assumption that more values-driven communication is always better and suggest brands should consider the appropriate level and type of values messaging for their audiences to avoid triggering skepticism or disengagement.
Extending Media Context Effects: Bidirectional Emotional Carryover Using Galvanic Skin Response
The emotional impact of an advertisement may depend as much on what surrounds it as on the ad itself. Using second-by-second Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) and self-reported emotional data from viewers in four countries, this study examines how emotions carry over between programming and advertising. The researchers find that emotionally engaging programs increase viewers’ arousal and positive responses to subsequent ads—but the effect also works in reverse, with ads influencing emotional responses to the programming that follows. Ad position matters as well, with earlier spots in an ad pod generated stronger emotional responses than later ones. Sports programming stands out for producing particularly high levels of emotional arousal and positive response to advertising. For advertisers and media companies, the findings demonstrate that programming context, pod position and the emotional qualities of both ads and content can work together to shape advertising effectiveness, reinforcing the value of considering the entire viewing experience when making media placement decisions.
The Arousal Effect: How Influencers’ High-Arousal Language Boosts Purchase Intention for Self-Improvement Products
The way influencers express enthusiasm may play an important role in persuading consumers to invest in themselves. Across four online studies, this research examines how the emotional intensity, or arousal level, of influencers’ language affects consumers’ willingness to purchase self-improvement products. The researchers find that high-arousal language increases purchase intentions by heightening consumers’ self-focus, directing greater attention toward their own goals, needs and potential for improvement. However, the effect is weaker among consumers with higher levels of self-acceptance, who may feel less motivated to pursue products promising personal improvement. For marketers, the findings suggest that energetic, emotionally charged influencer messaging can be particularly effective when promoting self-improvement products, but its impact depends on characteristics of the audience. The research highlights how something as subtle as the emotional intensity of an influencer’s language can shape consumer response and offers marketers another consideration when developing influencer content strategies.
“Inner Child” Messaging, Perceived Authenticity, and Consumer Responses in Advertising
Nostalgia is a familiar advertising strategy, but this research suggests brands may be able to evoke childhood connections without asking consumers to actively recall the past. Across a field study and six experiments, the researchers found that messages appealing directly to consumers’ “inner child” can be more persuasive and require less cognitive effort than traditional self-referencing messages that prompt people to remember childhood products or experiences. Inner-child appeals can also increase perceived authenticity and willingness to pay, particularly when paired with messaging emphasizing how a product or experience helps consumers feel true to themselves. However, the approach is less effective when the offering has little connection to childhood or is framed primarily around practical, utilitarian benefits. For marketers, the findings suggest that invoking the “inner child” can provide a simple and effective alternative to conventional nostalgia appeals, especially for brands and experiences with meaningful ties to childhood.
Exploring Celebrity Capital Life Cycle’s Impact on Endorsement Effectiveness: How Stars Rise, Shine, and Fizzle for Familiar and Unfamiliar Brands
Celebrity endorsements can boost a brand, but their effectiveness may depend on where a celebrity is in the arc of their career. Across two experiments with non-student consumers, this study examines “celebrity capital”—the level and frequency of a celebrity’s media visibility—across four stages: acquisition, consolidation, decline and resurgence. The researchers find that celebrities in the consolidation stage, when their visibility is established and strong, generate the most favorable consumer evaluations, followed by rising celebrities in the acquisition stage. Celebrities experiencing declining visibility, meanwhile, perform no better than advertisements without an endorser. Brand familiarity also matters. Consolidation-stage celebrities are particularly effective for unfamiliar brands, while familiar brands can benefit just as much from rising celebrities. For marketers, the findings suggest that selecting an endorser should involve more than assessing fame or brand fit; understanding where that celebrity currently sits in their “capital life cycle” may help brands make more effective—and potentially more efficient—endorsement decisions.
Rethinking Expectancy Disconfirmation in Consumer Responses to AI-Generated Creative Content
Consumers do not always respond positively when AI exceeds expectations—particularly when it comes to creative work. Across six experiments, this study examines why consumers may resist AI-generated advertising and visual designs and finds a surprising pattern: people are more likely to choose AI-created content when the AI performs worse than expected, while unexpectedly strong AI performance can actually decrease acceptance. The researchers find that overperformance can make AI seem more threatening and dehumanizing, whereas modest imperfections can reduce that sense of threat and make AI seem more human. The study also identifies practical factors that can influence these responses, including subtle flaws, greater stylistic variety, unpredictability and price. For marketers, the findings challenge the assumption that increasingly flawless AI creative will necessarily produce better consumer reactions. Instead, allowing AI-generated content to retain some variation and imperfection may help reduce resistance and make consumers more receptive to the work.