The influence of green ads beyond brand outcomes: environmental optimism, environmental knowledge, and support for green ad regulations

Due to consumers’ rising environmental concerns, companies increasingly engage in green advertising, aiming to showcase environmental responsibility. Drawing on signaling theory, we investigated the association between consumers’ exposure to green advertising and their environmental optimism regarding beliefs in fulfilling climate goals described in the Paris Agreement in 2015 over time. Based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model, we further examined the role of environmental knowledge. Findings of a two-wave panel study (NW2 = 511) indicated that exposure to green advertising at Wave 1 (W1) was positively related to environmental optimism at Wave 2 (W2). While environmental knowledge (W2) was negatively related to environmental optimism (W2), it did not moderate the positive relationship between exposure to green advertising (W1) and environmental optimism (W2) over time. Additionally, environmental optimism (W1) was negatively associated with support for green advertising regulations (W2) over time. Implications for green advertising practitioners and scholars are discussed.