Purpose The purpose of this article was to address the gap in the extant research regarding the use of memes in advertising, particularly those outside of digital media, and intentionally targeting Generation Z consumers. The aim of the research was to provide further insight into the cognitive processes that these consumers use when evaluating advertisements using memes to improve engagement. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method approach was used as the research design. The initial study was a qualitative study consisting of in-depth interviews with Generation Z consumers. The purpose was to evaluate the degree to which the target audience used a concept called persuasion knowledge to evaluate the motives and tactics of the advertisers, and their cognitive, behavioral and affective responses as a result. Given the positive results of the first study, the second study was designed to provide empirical evidence of the use of persuasion knowledge among these consumers. The themes that emerged in the qualitative study were tested using measures that were established in terms of validity and reliability. Findings Three of the seven hypothesis were supported, one additional was marginally so at 0.10. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between Generation Z consumers who were exposed to an advertisement featuring a meme, and those who were exposed to traditional nonmeme ad. The respondents in the meme condition were significantly more likely to pay attention, which is evidence of persuasion knowledge through both accessibility of motives, and the cognitive capacity to process persuasive tactics (Campbell and Kirmani, 2000). However, they were more likely to be confused, more likely to report skepticism toward the brand, and significantly more likely to deem the ad advertisement as inauthentic or manipulative. Both ads were for the same brand, IKEA. Research limitations/implications The study described here did have findings that were contrary to prior research in terms of positive outcomes associated with the use of meme-based advertisements in terms of things like engagement (Malodia et al., 2022; Baek et al., 2025) and the generation of positive attitudes toward the brand (Yang, 2022). Yet other findings were consistent with prior research such as a study where video-based advertising in the tourism industry was more effective in emotional connect (e.g. hedonics) when not using memes (Li and Yu, 2025). Another was the effectiveness of memes and cutting through advertising clutter (e.g. attention) (Agrawal et al., 2025). One of the limitations of the study is that respondents were not exposed to these advertisements in the wild. Therefore, attention was manipulated to an extent by exposing them to an experimental condition that contained an advertisement. Again, the authors attempted to compensate for this by having the respondent reflect upon the advertisements ability to compete for their attention in the real world. Another limitation is that only one company was examined in study two’s quantitative analysis. It is quite likely that context is key, things such as the demographic nature of the target market, the brand itself and the messaging associated with the meme being used in the advertisement. Future research should examine differences not only between meme-based and traditional advertising, but also the use of memes between different sponsoring brands and industries. Based upon the qualitative results, it’s clear that consumers in the Generation Z cohort likely, examine each ad on its own merits, most notably in terms of the congruency between the message, the brand and the meme that’s being used. It’s entirely possible that a more appropriate use of a meme that matches the brand could yield completely different results than have been seen in this study. It is entirely possible that the use of persuasion knowledge to evaluate meme-based advertising intersects with several important factors, such as the level of brand loyalty, the nature of the meme used and how the advertisement is communicated. Practical implications Although the use of meme-based advertising might seem to be a viable tactic to connect with consumers from the Generation Z cohort, the authors urge marketers to do so with caution. While in this case, the meme-based advertisement was effective at getting the attention of respondent, it was not effective in terms of engagement nor hedonic effects. It did, however, triggered negative outcomes such as skepticism among the respondents, compared to the traditional advertisement, and perceptions of manipulation and inauthenticity. This study provided at least some evidence that meme-based advertising is not immune to evaluation for the appropriateness of the tactics used by the advertiser. The authors further argue that this is evidence for the use of persuasion knowledge. (Friestad and Wright, 1994). As a result of this persuasion knowledge, these consumers will likely be quite effective at evaluating the authenticity of the communication, and the appropriateness, given the persuasive episode. Given these findings, marketers should prioritize the appropriateness of the meme, and it fits with the objectives of the promotional element and not just based on the perceived quality of the meme itself. Pretesting with members of this generational cohort is essential. Evaluation of memes solely because of their popularity at the time would not be an appropriate indicator of effectiveness in the marketplace, as fit seems to be deemed important by this generational cohort. Social implications Persuasion is not limited to the purview of the corporate world. As indicated in some of the cited literature, meme-based communication is used by government agencies and nonprofit organizations. The ability to determine the relative effectiveness of this type of advertising to reach out to young individuals would be invaluable. Particularly since the findings in the first study validate the results of early research … That engagement drops when using meme-based advertising for cause-based marketing. Originality/value Extant literature regarding meme-based advertising focuses nearly exclusively on its use in social media advertising. However, memes are being used in other promotional mixed elements. There is a significant gap in the literature, looking at the effectiveness of memes outside their more natural environment of social media. Another gap in the literature is a lack of examination in terms of some of the cognitive processes that may precede consumer evaluation of meme-based advertising, most notably in the use of persuasion knowledge. Prior research indicates that the use of persuasion knowledge can have a profound impact on how consumers approach and evaluate advertising, sometimes to the surprise of the persuasive agent.
Henrie et al. (Thu,) studied this question.