Purpose Brand activism can elicit backlash among consumers with opposing political views. The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to understand the mechanism underlying negative consumer responses to brand activism; and (2) to identify strategies for mitigating this potential outrage. Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses were tested through two online experimental studies that used different stimuli and samples (MTurk, n = 161; University participant pool, n = 89). Findings A mismatch between a brand’s political position and an individual’s political affiliation leads to more negative brand attitudes than a political match, an effect mediated by brand betrayal. This mediation process is moderated by brand anthropomorphism. In a political mismatch, high anthropomorphism intensifies feelings of betrayal, whereas low anthropomorphism mitigates them. This effect is asymmetric, as brand anthropomorphism does not influence consumer emotional reactions in a political match. Originality/value This research introduces brand betrayal into the conceptual domain of brand activism and identifies brand anthropomorphism as an effective strategy for mitigating consumer backlash in a political mismatch.
Vinuales et al. (2026) studied this question.