Advertising in the fashion industry: The effects of socially provocative advertising on attitude toward the advertisement, the brand and consumer purchase intentions

This research examines the effects of socially provocative advertising on attitude to the advertisement, the brand and consumer purchase intentions. The study focuses on advertising employed in the fashion industry. The theory of cognitive dissonance was explored to explain a correlation between attitude to the advertisements, attitude to the brand and purchase intentions. The survey was distributed online to a diverse set of students enrolled in Public Speaking classes at the University of South Alabama.;It was found that the majority of students experienced cognitive dissonance after being exposed to the provocative advertisements. The results also revealed a significant positive correlation between cognitive dissonance and a negative attitude toward the advertisements and the brand. Finally, there was a significant negative correlation between dissonance and purchase intentions. This concludes that the participants who experienced cognitive dissonance had a negative attitude toward the advertisements, the brand and also negative purchase intentions...