Search

Advertisement of Demerit Goods and Consumers’ Spending Behaviour

Author(s)

Huanqi Wang

Affiliation(s)

Hangzhou Foreign Language School, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Abstract

Advertising has become increasingly commonplace in today’s society, taking various forms and influencing the consumption habits of different demographic groups. The impact of advertisements on consumer behaviours, particularly regarding demerit goods, has been a topic of significant research in recent years. In this study, a survey was carried out to investigate the effects of alcohol advertisements on Chinese respondents by gathering their responses from a questionnaire mainly evaluating whether and to what extent alcohol consumption will be affected by advertisements on various demographic groups. The key results revealed that the consumer behaviour of the majority will not be influenced by the advertisements, and people are aware that demerit goods advertisements tend to understate the harm of the advertised product. The results indicate that there is a strong correlation between the increase in consumption as a result of demerit good advertisement and gender, income level, and purchasing intention, whereas the correlation between the increase in consumption as a result of demerit good advertisement and age group or occupation is not clearly displayed. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that various features represented in the advertisements and different forms of how the advertisements are represented are favoured differently by the audience. Meanwhile, demerit goods advertisements were found to have no effect on encouraging people to try new brands.

Keywords

Demerit Goods; Advertising; Consumer Behaviour; Health Awareness

References

[1]Shkil L L. (2021). Substantive approach to the definition of "advertising": Philosophical and communicative aspect. [2]Javed T, Mahmoud A B, co-authors. (2024). Green branding in fast fashion: Examining the impact of social sustainability claims on Chinese consumer behaviour and brand perception. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 29(2), 350–368. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-12-2023-0169 [3]Wikipedia. (2025). Consumer behaviour. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_behaviour [4]Walsh C. (1987). Individual irrationality and public policy: In search of merit/demerit policies. Journal of Public Policy, 7(2), 103–134. Cambridge University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4007267 [5]Ver Eecke W, Nowacki M. (2023). Integrating the economic concept of a “merit good” used to justify the teaching of ethics across the university curriculum: Revisiting Musgrave’s perspective. In New Approaches to Business, Management and Economics (Vol. 9, Chapter 2). https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/nabme/v9/5777 [6]Barroso A. (2008). Advertising and consumer awareness of a new product. Centre for Economic Policy Research Paper, 3, 1–30. [7]Ayanwale A B, Alimi T, Ayanbimipe M A. (2005). The influence of advertising on consumer brand preference. Journal of Social Sciences, 10(1), 9–16. [8]Giesbrecht N, Reisdorfer E, Shield K. (2024). The impacts of alcohol marketing and advertising, and the alcohol industry’s views on marketing regulations: Systematic reviews of systematic reviews. Drug and Alcohol Review, 43(6), 1250–1268. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13881 [9]Becker G S, Murphy K M. (1993). A simple theory of advertising as a good or bad. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108(4), 941–964. [10]Martins J, Costa C, Oliveira T, Gonçalves, R., & Branco, F. (2019). How smartphone advertising influences consumers’ purchase intention. Journal of Business Research, 94, 378–387. [11]Ha H Y, John J, Janda S. (2011). The effects of advertising spending on brand loyalty in services. European Journal of Marketing, 45(4), 673–691. [12]Starr M K, Rubinson J R. (1978). A loyalty group segmentation model for brand purchasing simulation. Journal of Marketing Research, 15(3), 378–383. [13]Krishnamurthi L, Sethuraman P R. (1991). An empirical analysis of the relationship between brand loyalty and consumer price elasticity. Marketing Science, 10(2), 172–183. [14]Pollay R W. (1989). Filters, flavors flim-flam, too! On “health information” and policy implications in cigarette advertising. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 8(1), 30–39. [15]Lim C W, Sun T, Vu G, Chan G C K, Leung J. (2024). The underbelly of E-cigarette advertising: Regulating online markets on social media platforms. Harm Reduction Journal, 21(105), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-024-01027-5 [16]Warner K E. (1985). Tobacco industry response to public health concern: A content analysis of cigarette ads. Health Education Quarterly, 12(1), 115–127. [17]Pollay R W. (1987). Marketing at odds: Health information in cigarette advertising. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 6, 29–43. [18]Tye J B, Warner K E, Glantz S A. (1987). Tobacco advertising and consumption: Evidence of a causal relationship. Journal of Public Health Policy, 8, 492–508. [19]Ringold D J, Calfee J E. (1989). The informational content of cigarette advertising: 1926–1986. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 8(1), 1–23. [20]Calfee J E. (2000). The historical significance of Joe Camel. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 19(2), 168–182. [21]Cohen J B. (2000). Playing to win: Marketing and public policy at odds over Joe Camel. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 19(2), 155–167. [22]Tuchman A E. (2019). Advertising and demand for addictive goods: The effects of e-cigarette advertising. Marketing Science, 38(6), 994–1022