Spoofing: social commentary or effective marketing tool? Testing promotion vs. prevention message frames in college students’ fight against obesity

Abstract Spoofs parody regular advertisements in an attempt to discourage consumers from using or buying certain products. Using regulatory focus theory, the overarching question in this paper was whether spoofs (promotion vs. prevention) act as anti-consumption messages to fight obesity among college students. In Study 1, a repeated measures design was employed where participants were shown the regular ad followed by either spoof, while in Study 2, a between-subjects design was used and participants were exposed to either one of the three ads. Findings from both studies confirmed that spoofing potentially impacts brands, specifically, purchase intentions. Effectiveness of either spoof varies with respect to the presentation order of the ads and levels of anti-commercial consumer rebellion. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.