When advertising and public relations converge: An application of schema theory to the persuasive impact of alignment ads

Brand ads that incorporate social issues are becoming more prevalent. A org anizational alignments that spawn them, often between the advertised brand and and a charitable organization. This research applies schema theory to e xplore how viewers respond to these ads. Findings indicate that placing an issue in an ad offers important advantages for advertisers. Consistent with predictions from schema theory, congruent issue information elicits more p ositive affective and conative responses than incongruent issue information . Further, the inclusion of congruent issues in ads prompts greater recall of issue information. On the downside, however, results indicate that placi ng an issue in an ad may detract from information remembered about the bran d. Finally, alignment ads performed similarily to publicity that linked a b rand to an issue social importance.