When Brands Reflect Our Ideal World: The Values and Brand Preferences of Consumers Who Support versus Reject Society's Dominant Ideology

Steven Shepherd, Tanya L. Chartrand, Gavan J. Fitzsimons
2015 Journal of Consumer Research  
system justification theory (Jost and Banaji 1994) , the current research explores (1) what values define America's dominant ideology, (2) which consumers subscribe to these values, and (3) implications for brands that reflect versus do not reflect the dominant ideology. It is proposed that consumers vary in their satisfaction with American society and their endorsement of America's defining values, and thus differ in the values they endorse versus reject in brands. Five experiments manipulate
more » ... hether or not the values signaled by a brand are in alignment with the dominant ideology. Consumers more versus less satisfied with American society respond differently to the values a brand signals, affecting brand attitudes, perceptions of a brand's status as a cultural icon, and purchase intentions. In a sixth experiment, those more versus less satisfied with American society respond differently to consumerrelated policy (i.e., a ban on trans fat), depending on the values that the policy is framed as reflecting. Implications for branding and policy are discussed.
doi:10.1093/jcr/ucv005 fatcat:l5brqiwbe5hs7btf6mlsd34ryu