Effective or offensive advertising? : An exploratory study on negative Word-of-Mouth and consumers’ perception

Abstract: Background:               Thanks to digitalization, the current generation Y is constantly exposed to advertising and information, blurring boundaries that can lead to a “buzz”, process more and more common online due to the possibility to publicly respond.   Purpose:          The aim is to understand the processes leading to a possible influence of consumer perception via negative online word-of-mouth and advertisements deemed controversial.   Method:          As an exploratory study, this paper conducted qualitative interviews with a group of students in which they will react to two cases of viral, controversial advertisement.    Conclusion:                The results show that there is indeed a relation between being exposed to negative online word-of-mouth: controversy and interpretation of the content influence the customer’s opinion.