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International Journal of Advertising
The Review of Marketing Communications
ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rina20
Fostering consumer engagement during an
omnipresent victim crisis: understanding the role
of values in pandemic-themed advertising
Chen Lou, Xuan Zhou, Xun (Irene) Huang, Chen Qiu & Mingquan Yuan
To cite this article: Chen Lou, Xuan Zhou, Xun (Irene) Huang, Chen Qiu & Mingquan Yuan
(2022): Fostering consumer engagement during an omnipresent victim crisis: understanding
the role of values in pandemic-themed advertising, International Journal of Advertising, DOI:
10.1080/02650487.2022.2111830
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2022.2111830
Published online: 16 Aug 2022.
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING
Fostering consumer engagement during an
omnipresent victim crisis: understanding the role of
values in pandemic-themed advertising
Chen Loua, Xuan Zhoua, Xun (Irene) Huangb, Chen Qiuc and Mingquan
Yuand
aWee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore,
Singapore; bNanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore; cSchool
of Computer Science, Northwestern Polytechnical Univeristy, Xi’an, China; dSam’s Club Innovation Center,
Dallas, TX, USA
ABSTRACT
Many brands have launched pandemic-themed advertising cam-
paigns, aiming to build rapport with their customers in this unprec-
edented moment. Yet it is challenging for brands to know how
to communicate efficiently. To fill this gap, the current research
aims to provide a systematic framework that could guide adver-
tisers in designing pandemic-themed advertisements to stimulate
consumer engagement on social media by examining the role of
values in context-specific brand communications. In particular, we
analyze a large corpus of 286 brand YouTube videos posted
between the onset of the COVID-19 and the fall of 2020 through
a combination of qualitative induction, coding, and big data ana-
lytics. The results demonstrate that brands can incorporate various
values in their brand communications when the world is combat-
ing a victim crisis like the current pandemic. Our findings reveal
that hedonism, universalism, conformity, security, and tradition
values positively predict consumer engagement (i.e., commenting),
whereas stimulation value negatively predicts consumer comment-
ing. We develop a new type of victim crisis – omnipresent victim
crisis – and offer a theorization of this sub-type of victim crisis to
delineate the pandemic or crises alike (e.g., environmental issues)
for future research. We further highlight the role of value embod-
iment in crisis communication and advertising literature and offer
rich theoretical and practical implications.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of advertising in unanticipated
ways. Many brands have launched timely pandemic-themed advertising campaigns,
aiming to engage their customers in this unprecedented moment (Jolly 2020).
Pandemic-themed advertising herein describes advertisements or brand messages
that incorporate explicit or implicit textual and/or visual elements that connect to
the pandemic (Jardine 2021). For example, the alcohol brand Guinness delivered a
© 2022 Advertising Association
CONTACT Chen Lou chenlou@ntu.edu.sg Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang
Technological University, Singapore 637718, Singapore.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2022.2111830
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 5 April 2021
Accepted 3 August 2022
KEYWORDS
Pandemic-themed
advertising; COVID-19;
valuesconsumer
engagement; social
media analytics
2 C. LOU ETAL.
‘St. Patrick’s Day’ message with comforting sentiments, acknowledging the challenges
caused by the coronavirus and encouraging a spirit of resilience among all humankind
(Todd 2020). Meanwhile, the ride-sharing company Uber launched a rare commercial
entitled ‘Thank You for Not Riding’, which visually presents clips of people’s life during
the lockdown and appreciates socially responsible stay-home behaviors (Todd 2020).
Recent research conducted in seven countries revealed that most consumers expect
brands to show empathy to stakeholders and take actions to mitigate the impact of
the pandemic, rather than taking advantage of the pandemic to promote their brands
or products (Dynata 2020). Yet it is challenging for brands to know what exactly to
say and how to communicate efficiently (Kantar 2020). For example, while McDonald’s
was slammed by social media users after separating its signature golden arches logo
to promote social distancing in a Brazilian campaign (Diaz 2020), Nike’s latest COVID-19
campaign ‘You Can’t Stop Us’ struck the right tone and is considered a masterpiece
of advertising (Alcorn 2020). Therefore, it is critical for brands to efficiently navigate
in order to deliver relatable, acceptable, and effective communication in these chal-
lenging times.
Although prior research has identified some strategies for corporate crisis manage-
ment such as selecting the right messages (relief-focused vs. punishment-focused,
emotional vs. non-emotional) (Kim and Cameron 2011) and adopting high-quality
explanations like apologies and excuses (Coombs 2007; Coombs and Holladay 2007),
these findings may not be generalizable to the COVID-19 situation. This is because
the crises investigated by prior findings are often derived from accidental and pre-
ventable crises (Coombs 2006) caused by organizations (e.g., Choi and Lin 2009; Kim
and Cameron 2011; Schwarz 2012; Stieglitz etal. 2019), as well as some victim crises
affecting a limited number of stakeholders (e.g., Liu, Lai, and Xu 2018; Utz, Schultz,
and Glocka 2013). Yet, the pandemic is by far one of the largest victim crises in which
all brands and humankind are victims. In view of this, little is known about how
brands can communicate efficiently to build rapport with consumers. Due to its new
evolution, research on the efficacy of pandemic-themed advertising is lagging behind.
Drawing on Schwartz’s (1992) model of values and consumer engagement, this
study explores value embodiment (eliciting or exuding certain values, see Park etal.
2019) in brand communications during COVID-19 and investigates how values predict
consumer engagement (i.e., liking, commenting). We analyzed a large corpus of 286
pandemic-themed YouTube videos and traced the following values (i.e., universalism,
benevolence [self-transcendence values]; tradition, conformity, and security [conser-
vation values]; power, achievement, and hedonism [self-enhancement values];
self-direction and stimulation [openness to change values]) in these videos. Our results
demonstrate that hedonism, universalism, tradition, conformity, and security, to a
varying extent, positively predict consumer engagement (commenting), whereas stim-
ulation negatively predicts consumer commenting.
The findings of this timely research yield meaningful theoretical contributions. First,
our findings, focusing on the pandemic, contribute to the extant literature on the
currently understudied victim cluster crises (Krishna and Vibber 2017) and advance
our understanding of how organizations communicate with the public in a victim
crisis. In particular, we define this type of crisis as an omnipresent victim crisis.
Omnipresent victim crisis describes a sub-type of victim crises that often lasts longer,
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 3
affects more stakeholders, and is fluid and dynamic over the course of its evolution
compared to the general victim crisis. An omnipresent victim crisis often elicits a
weak attribution of responsibility to involved organizations at its onset, but subse-
quently leads to a fluctuating level of responsibility attribution to organizations as it
evolves. This theorization offers a foundation for future research to examine evolving,
large-scale, and dynamic victim crises (e.g., environmental issues) and contribute to
the crisis literature in general. Second, we connect the crisis literature to the value
embodiment literature and explicate the roles of values in the efficacy of crisis com-
munication, as values used to be understudied in crisis communications. Specifically,
our research is among the first few to investigate how values in organizational
responses might exert an impact on consumers’ reactions to organizations. Third, this
research applies Schwartz’s (1992) model of values in crisis communication context
and offers new theoretical propositions on the relations between values and consumer
engagement. We also emphasize that the values portrayed in brand communications,
which often reflect the expectations of the target audience, are flexible and adaptive
to external environmental changes. While Hofstede’s (1980) cultural dimensions have
been widely studied in cross-cultural advertising, this study adopts the understudied
value typology of Schwartz in the advertising research. Last, this study proposes a
brand communication protocol for crisis management and substantiates it with empir-
ical testing. The current findings also promise numerous actionable suggestions to
brand communication strategies during future victim crises.
Literature review
Pandemic-themed advertising & situational crisis communication theory
(SCCT)
The pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges for brands, marketers, and the
advertising industry. According to recent industry reports, due to the COVID-19, the
value of the 150 biggest brands in Britan fell by £30 billion in 2020 (Brand Finance
2021), whereas the top 100 nation brands in India lost around $13.1 trillion in brand
value in 2020 (Business Standard 2020). By end of 2020, global advertising market
had shrunk $63 billion (Harding 2020). Yet, the global ad spend has rebounded by
22% to reach S710 billion in 2021 (Campaign Asia 2021). Nonetheless, according to
a survey conducted by Dynata (2020), only 11% of the respondents believed that
brands should discontinue advertising in the wake of COVID-19. Indeed, most con-
sumers expect brands to empathize with stakeholders and take actions to alleviate
the negative impact of the pandemic, instead of only promoting products and reaping
profits via pandemic-themed ads (Dynata 2020). Therefore, it is pivotal for brands to
carefully design relevant, acceptable, and effective communications in these challeng-
ing times.
Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) suggests that crisis response strat-
egies should be carefully developed and contingent on the nature of the crisis
(Coombs 2006). According to Coombs (2006), crises consist of three types – victim
cluster, accidental cluster, and preventable cluster. Identifying crisis type is crucial for
stakeholders to assess the level of reputational damage inflicted on an organization,
4 C. LOU ETAL.
along with other factors like crisis severity, crisis history, and relationship history.
Estimating the reputational threat of a crisis helps an organization select the proper
response strategy. The level of crisis responsibility often positively correlates with the
degree of accommodation required of the organization (Coombs 2007; Coombs and
Holladay 2007). First, the victim cluster describes crises wherein an organization is
also a victim (e.g., natural disaster, rumors, workplace violence), and thus it produces
a weak attribution of crisis responsibility to the organization. Strategies for victim
crises include denial, attacking the accuser, and scapegoating. Second, the accidental
cluster describes crises that are caused uncontrollably or unintentionally by the orga-
nization (e.g., challenges, technical-error accidents) and has a moderate attribution
of crisis responsibility. Diminish strategies (excuse and justification) have been rec-
ommended for accidental crises. Third, the preventable cluster refers to crises that
occurred due to inappropriate actions or violations of the organization (e.g.,
human-error accidents, misdeeds) and has a strong attribution of crisis responsibility.
Rebuild strategies (compensation and apology) have often been proposed for pre-
ventable crises.
According to this classification, we categorize the current pandemic as a sub-type
under the victim cluster in which brands and consumers are all victims of a global
epidemic. We termed the current pandemic or crisis alike (e.g., deteriorating environ-
mental issues faced by all human beings) as a sub-type of victim crisis – omnipresent
victim crisis, as it shares some commonality with the original categorization of victim
crisis and also has its distinct characteristics. Originally, victim crises include earth-
quakes, flood disasters, and epidemics that can produce immediate and short-lived
adverse effects on affected organizations and the organizations are often attributed
with low or minimal responsibility (Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül 2022). Omnipresent
victim crisis is 1) similar to general victim crises as it also elicits a weak attribution
of responsibility to organizations, but it is 2) different from general victim crises as
it often lasts longer (e.g., the pandemic lasts more than two years), 3) affects a much
larger number of organizations (e.g., almost all organizations being affected by the
pandemic), and 4) is fluid and dynamic throughout its development (e.g., the onset
vs. the peak, vs. post-peak of the pandemic). Because of the fluid and dynamic nature
of an omnipresent victim crisis, the public’s attribution of responsibility to organizations
and expected responses of them might also vary over time. For instance, at pandemic
onset, the public may not attribute responsibility or expect the organizations to
respond or take action. As it evolves, the public might start attributing responsibility
and expect the organizations to help mitigate the adverse effect of the pandemic
and be socially responsible by ensuring health measures and/or donating to those
in need (Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül 2022).
Victim crises, response strategies, and consumer reactions
Relevant to victim crises, one stream of the extant literature conducted content
analysis or case studies to analyze organizational responses and public reactions (e.g.,
Kim, Avery, and Lariscy 2009; Krishna and Vibber 2017; Sisco, Collins, and Zoch 2010).
For instance, Krishna and Vibber (2017), based on a qualitative analysis of online news
comments, found that public reactions to a victim crisis – Sony being cyber-attacked
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 5
– were dominantly negative and critical toward the company. It could be because
consumers expect Sony, a technology company, to be competent in dealing with
cyberattacks. Kim, Avery, and Lariscy (2009) analyzed more than 18 years of research
in crisis communication and found that victim cluster crises often adopt bolstering
strategy (e.g., transcendence) or attack-the-accuser response strategy, but not the
apology response. In particular, Sisco, Collins, and Zoch (2010) examined crises and
crisis response strategies involving the American Red Cross in news coverage and
classified 29% of the articles involving victim crises, 27% being accidental crises and
44% being preventable crises. In particular, for the victim cluster crises, the most
often used response strategy was diminish (e.g., downplaying the situation or its role)
(53.1%), followed by deny (e.g., attacking the accuser) (32.7%), and rebuild (e.g.,
compensation or apology) (14.3%).
Another stream of the literature conducted experiments to investigate factors that
influence public perceptions of organizational reputation or responsibility, including
response strategies (Sisco 2012), crisis severity (Zhou and Ki 2018), and message
frames (i.e., episodic vs. thematic frames, Mason 2019). For example, Sisco (2012)
examined how the public perceives the crises and the response strategies of a non-
profit organization. In particular, in a victim crisis scenario, participants rated a deny
response of the non-profit to be more favorable than a diminish strategy (lessening
the impact), while in an accident scenario, the participants considered the rebuild
strategy to be more favorable than a diminish strategy. Zhou and Ki (2018) investi-
gated the interaction between crisis severity and crisis types on perceived crisis
responsibility and found that crisis severity did not have any effect on crisis respon-
sibility dimensions – intentionality, accountability, and locality – for a victim crisis.
Taking a step further, Schoofs et al. (2019) explained victim crises often inflict less
reputational damage on organizations than preventable crises due to increased
empathy of the public and weaker crisis responsibility attributed by the public. In
sum, the extant literature on victim crises has been relatively sparse compared to
the other types of crises, mostly because of the assumed minimal impact of victim
crises on organizational reputation, and thus researchers call for more future studies
on victim crises (Krishna and Vibber 2017).
In the COVID-19 context, Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül (2022) applied SCCT to
examine how chain hotels respond to the pandemic – a victim crisis – in the
earlier stages. They found that hotels emphasized them being victims and denied
responsibility in their initial reactions, but later took responsibility to fulfill safety
and health measures and compensation practices to combat the pandemic and
assure stakeholders, constituting a rebuilding strategy. Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül
(2022) thus argued that given the uniqueness of the pandemic – ‘the relative
effects of the crisis begin to dissolve but the crisis continues’, new approaches
and responses should be theorized to broaden the scope of the SCCT (14). This
is necessary, as traditional SCCT often aims to develop response messages to limit
the impact of crises that have occurred (Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül 2022), yet it
barely captures the dynamics between a continuous crisis and communication
strategies. The omnipresent victim crisis that we have developed thus timely cap-
tures this nuanced difference that is not covered in the original categorization of
victim crisis cluster.
6 C. LOU ETAL.
In sum, responding to Krishna and Vibber (2017)’s call for more research on victim
crises, this study attempts to explore how brands or organizations efficiently address
an unprecedented omnipresent victim crisis – the pandemic – faced by all mankind.
Specifically, given the uniqueness of this omnipresent victim crisis – lasting longer,
impacting more organizations, and being fluid and dynamic, we expect organizations’
responses to reflect this nature in pandemic-themed advertising and we aim to offer
new insights into our understanding of this sub-type of victim crisis.
Model of values
Given that human values have been argued to affect attitudes, behaviors, and ideol-
ogies across different domains, the importance of value has been emphasized in
multiple disciplines and a variety of contexts, including psychology, sociology, and
anthropology (Schwartz 1992). Value, as an abstract notion, differs from attitude.
Values refer to concepts or beliefs that relate to behaviors and behavioral evaluations,
transcend particular situations, and vary in importance (Schwartz 1992). Values can
be one of the ‘most powerful explanations of, and influences on, consumer behaviour’
(Okazaki and Mueller 2007, 504). Theoretical classifications of cultural values have
been well established and applied when comparing similarities and differences across
various cultural sites. Among these classifications, Hofstede’s (1980) cultural dimensions
– power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, uncertainty
avoidance, indulgence vs. restraint, and long vs. short term orientation – have been
widely studied and applied in cross-cultural marketing and advertising research
(Okazaki and Mueller 2007). Another cultural value typology developed by Schwartz
(1992) – model of values – has been less widely utilized in advertising or marketing
research. Nonetheless, we apply Schwartz’s model of values in this research because
of ‘its strong theoretical foundation’ (Okazaki and Mueller 2007, 505) and relatively
more nuanced categorization of values – including 10 discrete values across four
dimensions – that apply better to the pandemic context (e.g., Bojanowska etal. 2021).
It is evident that Hofstede’s (1980) four or six cultural dimensions may not be suffi-
cient to explicate the complex value shift during the pandemic (e.g., Daniel et al.
2022), whereas Schwartz’s model of values offers a comprehensive yet more granular
scope of value dimensions that have been applied in crisis research (e.g., Bleidorn,
Schwaba, and Hopwood 2021; Bojanowska et al. 2021).
Based on 40 sampled datasets in 20 countries, Schwartz (1992) unearthed 10 discrete
values across cultural sites and argued that compatibility and incompatibility co-exist among
the values. Schwartz (1992) further categorized the identified 10 values into four broader
types – self-enhancement, openness to change, self-transcendence, and conservation – and
sorted them into two sets of bipolar dimensions. That is, values centered on individual
interests – self-enhancement and openness to change – are compatible with each other
and their counterparts related to collective interests – self-transcendence and conservation
– are also concordant with each other. However, individual interest value – openness to
change – is not compatible with collective interest value – conservation, with
self-enhancement (individual interest value) and self-transcendence (collective interest value)
occupying the two ends of another bipolar dimension. This value categorization has been
further validated (Schwartz and Rubel 2005). Among the 10 distinct values, for instance,
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 7
hedonism value captures pleasure and enjoyment of life, whereas achievement value
emphasizes social esteem, in terms of individual competence, success, and ambition; benev-
olence focused on the ‘welfare of people with whom one is in close contact’ (Schwartz
1992, 39); conformity entails compliance with social expectations and norms; and security
involves both self and others, including national security, reciprocation, social orders,
and health.
Schwartz’s model of values has been applied in numerous studies to examine TV
ads and consumers’ reactions to business practices or corporate social responsibility
(e.g., Hetsroni 2000; Park etal. 2019; Steenhaut and Van Kenhove 2006). For instance,
Park et al. (2019) argue that luxury brands often resort to self-enhancement values to
appeal to core consumers. They also suggest an integration of self-enhancement value
and self-transcendence value in CSR activities mitigates unfavorable reactions compared
to CSR instantiating self-transcendence values only. Most of the extant research in crisis
communication that has applied Schwartz’s model of values often focus on individuals’
value shift during the pandemic or other crises (e.g., Bleidorn, Schwaba, and Hopwood
2021; Bojanowska etal. 2021; Daniel etal. 2013; Daniel etal. 2022; Sortheix et al. 2019;
Verkasalo, Goodwin, and Bezmenova 2006). For instance, Bojanowska et al. (2021)
observed a significant increase in values like universalism and benevolence amidst the
COVID-19 in Poland. Daniel etal. (2022) also researched individuals during the pandemic
and found that conservation values (tradition, conformity, and security) remained high
during the pandemic and argued that people’s decreased security gave rise to an
increase in conservation values. Furthermore, Verkasalo, Goodwin, and Bezmenova (2006)
investigated value change following a major terrorist incident (the WTC attack) among
Finnish adolescents and found that security value increased, and stimulation value
decreased following the terrorist attack. Very limited research in crisis communication
has applied Schwartz’s model of values to predict behavioral change (e.g., Lake et al.
2021). In particular, Lake etal. (2021) manipulated four different value-expressive mes-
sages (i.e., self-transcendence, conservation, openness to change, self-enhancement)
that promote social distancing during COVID-19 and examined participants’ perceptions
of them. They found that participants considered the self-transcendence message the
most persuasive, especially among those who uphold social focus values. In short, the
application of Schwartz’s model of values in the extant crisis literature has been rather
nascent. We advance this line of research by examining values manifested in brand
communication (or pandemic-themed advertising) during a rather nuanced sub-type
victim crisis – the omnipresent victim crisis, the pandemic per se.
Within the scope of this current study, we focus on all four types of values manifested
in pandemic-themed advertising – self-enhancement (hedonism, achievement, power),
self-transcendence (universalism, benevolence), conservation (conformity, security, tradi-
tion), and openness to change (self-direction, stimulation) for the following reasons.
Self-enhancement values
First, from the perspective of exchange, advertisements can be considered as com-
munication exchanges between marketers and consumers, which have the potential
to fulfill consumer expectations of useful product information and entertainment
(Ducoffe 1996). Pandemic-themed advertising is no exception to this assumption
and exhibits the basic self-enhancement value dimension (i.e., hedonism,
8 C. LOU ETAL.
achievement, power). According to, making mortality salient can increase indulgent
choices (i.e., hedonism-related) when the choice domain does not constitute an
important source of self-esteem. Given the increasing global death toll from the
COVID-19, pandemic-themed advertising often explicitly or implicitly mentions mor-
tality, and the portrayals of mortality, in this context, barely involve self-esteem
concerns (i.e., public health issues have little to do with self-esteem). In addition,
recent literature indicates that since the onset of COVID-19, individuals increasingly
engage in hedonistic activities such as binge eating and alcohol consumption
(Pyszczynski et al. 2021). We thus argue that, when exposed to pandemic-themed
ads, the salience of mortality will drive consumers to favor hedonism value, which
in turn can lead to more consumer engagement with the videos. Yet, when
mortality-related messages make people perceive that their time is limited, they
tend to put less emphasis on long-term goals regarding ‘acquiring information,
assets, and status’ (Bleidorn, Schwaba, and Hopwood 2021, 248). Hence, given that
achievement value (personal success) or power value (social status or prestige) in
the pandemic-themed ads are associated with future payoff (Bleidorn, Schwaba, and
Hopwood 2021) and incompatible with the focal task (i.e., survival and safety) that
is faced by human beings at this moment, we argue that this incompatible value
will be negatively predicting consumer engagement (Park etal. 2019):
H1: Hedonism value manifested in pandemic-themed ads will be positively related to
consumer engagement with the ads.
H2: Achievement value manifested in pandemic-themed ads will be negatively related
to consumer engagement with the ads.
H3: Power value manifested in pandemic-themed ads will be negatively related to con-
sumer engagement with the ads.
Self-transcendence values
Pandemic-themed advertising predominantly concerns the general public’s welfare
and promotes security, harmony, self-discipline to comply with safety measures, and
stability to appeal to consumers (Shipley and Loar 2020), all of which correspond to
the self-transcendence dimension of values (i.e., universalism, benevolence) and con-
servation dimension of values (i.e., tradition, conformity, and security). In particular,
universalism and benevolence in brand videos signal a shift from selfish interests to
the broader public, which has been found to elicit favorable consumer reactions
(Defever, Pandelaere, and Roe 2011). Recent literature shows that depicting univer-
salism and benevolence can be highly persuasive in affecting people’s COVID-19
preventative behaviors (Lake etal. 2021). It is mainly because life-threatening health
adversity like COVID-19 disease directs individuals’ attention to values that have more
emotional orientations, such as love and friendship (i.e., universalism and benevolence),
which can provide immediate emotional gratifications (Bleidorn, Schwaba, and
Hopwood 2021) and facilitate solidarity and resilience among individuals (Sortheix
et al. 2019).
H4: Universalism value manifested in pandemic-themed ads will be positively related to
consumer engagement with the ads.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 9
H5: Benevolence value manifested in pandemic-themed ads will be positively related to
consumer engagement with the ads.
Conservation values
Pertaining to the conservation values (i.e., tradition, conformity, and security), recent
research from the evolutionary perspective argued that fear will drive consumers to
seek conformity in decision-making (Griskevicius etal. 2009). Furthermore, the security
value in pandemic-themed advertising foreseeably resonates with the basic survival
motivation and goal of the majority of consumers and is expected to resonate with
consumers (Lang 2006). Similar to security value, tradition value emphasizes respecting
and preserving existing norms, ideas, and other social arrangements that can bring
certainty to one’s life (Schwartz 2012). Thus, we argue that the tradition value is
congruent with consumers’ yearning for peace and a sense of belonging during the
pandemic, which potentially further contributes to their engagement with the ads
(Defever, Pandelaere, and Roe 2011). Not surprisingly, empirical research has indicated
that conservation values that are associated with self-protection and anxiety-control
motives can dramatically increase in importance after the onset of a global crisis
(Sortheix et al. 2019), especially amid the COVID-19 outbreak. This occurred because
people are ‘feeling less safe’ (Daniel et al. 2022) and expect to resume security and
restore control over an unpredictable situation (Daniel et al. 2013). Collectively, we
argue that the values of self-transcendence (i.e., universalism, benevolence), and
conservation (i.e., conformity, security, and tradition) in pandemic-themed advertising
are expected to positively predict consumer engagement.
H6: Conformity value manifested in pandemic-themed ads will be positively related to
consumer engagement with the ads.
H7: Security value manifested in pandemic-themed ads will be positively related to
consumer engagement with the ads.
H8: Tradition value manifested in pandemic-themed ads will be positively related to
consumer engagement with the ads.
Openness to change values
Furthermore, openness to change values (i.e., stimulation and self-direction) reflects
individuals’ organismic needs for autonomy, mastery, and variation in their lives
(Schwartz 2012). However, a heightened uncertain situation, such as natural disasters
and the COVID-19, cannot be influenced or regulated by individuals’ personal agency
(Verlegh et al. 2021). Instead, emphasizing the pursuit of excitement, challenges, and
freedom (i.e., openness to change values) can by far contradict current prioritized
goals of protection and safety (Schwartz 2012). More importantly, prior research
indicated that openness to change values can be incompatible with prosocial ten-
dencies (Silfver et al. 2008). In particular, recent research reveals that values that
highlight people’s growth and self-expansion motives (i.e., stimulation and self-direction)
can become less favored in response to a global crisis or pandemic (Daniel et al.
2022; Sortheix et al. 2019; Verkasalo, Goodwin, and Bezmenova 2006), since it becomes
difficult to pursue adventures, explorations, and complexities during global crises.
10 C. LOU ETAL.
Taken together, given the incongruence between openness to change values and
consumers’ motivational states during a global health crisis, we expect a negative
relationship between openness to change values and consumer engagement. Therefore,
we propose:
H9: Self-direction value manifested in pandemic-themed ads will be negatively related
to consumer engagement with the videos.
H10: Stimulation value manifested in pandemic-themed ads will be negatively related
to consumer engagement with the videos.
Lastly, according to the content analysis by Jiménez-Sánchez, Margalina, and
Vayas-Ruiz (2021), the pandemic-themed ads can be classified into six categories: 1)
informing about what companies do during the COVID-19 crisis, 2) brands’ support
of the StayHome campaign, 3) messages of encouragement, 4) sales of products or
brand image, 5) gratitude campaigns toward professionals and citizens, and 6) focusing
on the return after the pandemic. We thus also coded the prevailing themes of the
ads and report how the values in the ads manifest as a function of the theme to
provide more context to this research.
Ad features as covariates
To test the aforementioned hypotheses, we focus on investigating brand communi-
cations on YouTube during the pandemic for the following reasons. First, recent years
have witnessed the growing popularity of utilizing online video platforms as a mar-
keting tool (Chaffey 2020). A recent survey indicated that 93% of marketers have
incorporated video content into their marketing strategy (Hayes 2021). Notably,
YouTube has become the most widely used video marketing channel (Hayes 2021),
with two billion monthly active users worldwide (Statista 2020) and billions of views
every day (Mohsin 2021). Additionally, extant academic literature has examined the
effectiveness of YouTube from various marketing perspectives, including product
promotion (e.g., Schwemmer and Ziewiecki 2018), branded content marketing (e.g.,
Lou etal. 2019), pre-roll ads (e.g., Campbell etal. 2017), and political marketing (e.g.,
Vesnic-Alujevic and Van Bauwel 2014), and the findings have provided concrete evi-
dence on the role of YouTube videos in engaging consumers and achieving marketing
success. Therefore, regarding YouTube ads, we also consider the following covariates
to control for in our hypotheses testing.
It is known that the number of subscribers and posts shared on weekends can
positively predict consumer engagement (e.g., likes or comments) (Hughes, Swaminathan,
and Brooks 2019). Furthermore, Campbell etal. (2017) demonstrated that the length
of a pre-roll ad is positively associated with viewers’ skipping intention. In the current
context, given that the runtime of most ads varies between 30 seconds and two min-
utes, we argue that video length can affect viewers’ attention span and perception,
which thus affects viewers’ engagement (Guo, Kim, and Rubin 2014). Furthermore, the
age of the video (the data extraction date minus its posting date) is foreseeably cor-
related with consumer engagement, as the older videos are likely to garner more likes
and comments. Moreover, the number of views that a video attracts will likely affect
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 11
the number of likes and comments that it receives. The sentiment expressed in the
comments can also affect subsequent viewers’ comments and likes (Siddique et al.
2021). Lastly, the co-existence of conflicting values (i.e., both self-transcendence and
self-enhancement values, and/or both conservation and openness to change values)
can affect viewers’ processing and evaluations (e.g., Park et al. 2019). Therefore, the
presence of conflicting values is also controlled for in model testing.
In sum, we controlled for the following covariates in model testing: number of
subscribers of the YouTube channel, weekend post, video length, video age, number
of views, sentiment in the comments, and presence of conflicting values.
Method
Sample and data extraction
To locate brand videos that were advertised during COVID-19 and were related to
the pandemic on YouTube, we engaged the following steps to ensure an exhaustive
search. First, in the first week of September 2020, two computer scientists manually
searched brands that have advertised during COVID-19 through Google and YouTube
searches and located 134 brands. Second, they looked closely into these brands on
YouTube to verify whether they have posted any videos related to COVID-19. Eight
brands did not post any related videos and were excluded. Third, the same two
computer scientists further complemented this brand list by leveraging the latest
Forbes 500 company list and searching the top 300 companies on YouTube to locate
more brands. Combined, we generated a total of 135 brands. Last, two research
assistants located each of these brands on YouTube and used the following keywords
– ‘COVID/pandemic AND/OR security/virus/safe/safety’ – to locate the most related
top three videos within their channels (some brands had posted only one or two
pandemic-themed ads). Finally, we identified a total of 296 ad videos, from 135 brands,
on YouTube in October 2020 (see summary in Table 1).
Following this, based upon YouTube Data API V3, the two computer scientists
developed a Google cloud application via Python to retrieve features of these 296
Table 1. Overview of total ads by product category and region.
Product Categories North America Europe Asia Other Regions Total
Airlines, travel, and hospitality 12 6 8 1 27
Automobiles 16 7 6 2 31
Electronics and softwares 10 0 1 0 11
Energy companies 5 1 0 0 6
Entertainment 15 0 0 0 15
Food and beverage 38 6 1 2 47
Health and personal care 14 0 1 0 15
Insurance and nancial services 28 0 0 1 29
Internet 28 2 2 0 32
Manufacture 6 0 0 0 6
Pharmaceutical companies 3 0 0 0 3
Postal, courier, and logistics services 14 0 0 0 14
Retailers 42 3 0 0 45
Sports 5 0 0 0 5
Telecommunication 7 3 0 0 10
Total 243 28 19 6296
12 C. LOU ETAL.
videos (features of one video were not retrieved due to technical constraints). These
features include the number of likes that a video has received, number of comments,
sentiment in comments, video length in seconds, number of subscribers of the YouTube
channel, age of the video (from extraction date to posting date), and whether it was
posted on weekend. Considering the constraints of the YouTube API quota each day,
we split the data extraction tasks over 8 days. Nine ads’ videos were deactivated, and
one video’s metrics could not be retrieved, leaving us with 286 videos for further
analysis.
Coding guide development and data coding
Given the evolution of COVID-19, we conducted a series of preliminary research and
pilot tests to develop the coding protocol. First, in September 2020, two experienced
researchers watched 21 pandemic-themed ads that were randomly extracted from
YouTube and jotted down the basic values emerging in the videos. Second, 50 stu-
dents from a large advertising class were asked to search pandemic-themed ads on
YouTube. Each of them shared at least one ad video in an online discussion forum
and discussed the topics in the videos in September 2020. Third, the two researchers
incorporated the sharing from the 50 students into their initial input, consulted with
existing literature on values (Park etal. 2019; Schwartz 1992), and generated an initial
list of 19 items, including 12 coding items (10 values, ad topic, and presence of
conflicting values), six extracted video metrics (covariates) from YouTube, and ad URL.
This procedure is consistent with the qualitative approach, which involves research
judgment and induction (Glaser and Strauss 1967). Further, to ensure a more man-
ageable list for coding, two research assistants, blind to the purpose of this study,
were trained to understand the coding protocol and coded a sample of 30 ads along
with the 12 coding items. Their coding results were analyzed to determine and remove
an item (power value) that was not found in any of the ads. Among the coding items,
all the values were coded on a 5-point Likert scale (Campbell etal. 2017), with options
varying from ‘no value elicited = 1’ to ‘strong value = 5’ (see the coding protocol in
Table 2). We also provided a list of exemplary videos with all coded values (see
Table 3).
The same two research assistants then coded all videos and coded no more than
50 ads per day in October 2020 (Campbell et al. 2017). Once the coding was com-
pleted, they met to discuss and reconcile differences when necessary. We calculated
interrater consistency on a per-ad basis using Pearson correlations (Campbell et al.
2017). The interrater reliability for each of the 286 ads reached 0.70 or higher. The
two coders’ scores for the 286 ads were averaged and analyzed. We summarized all
the coding procedures in Figure 1.
Dependent variable
Within the online media context, Mersey, Malthouse, and Calder (2010) defined
engagement as ‘the collective experiences that readers or viewers have with a media
brand’ (40) and argued that media engagement can ultimately predict advertising
effectiveness. Aligned with this broad perspective, relevant to the YouTube context,
this study specifically focused on the behavioral dimension of consumer engagement
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 13
(e.g., liking and commenting) and operationalized engagement as metrics that gauge
the magnitude of consumer responses and interactions such as likes and comments
(e.g., Barger, Peltier, and Schultz 2016; Hughes, Swaminathan, and Brooks 2019). This
behavioral dimension of consumer engagement on interactive digital and social
media has also been argued to predict advertising effectiveness or firm revenue
(e.g., Harmeling et al. 2017; Hughes, Swaminathan, and Brooks 2019).
Data analysis
As the dependent variables (i.e., number of likes and comments) are count variables,
we considered using either a Poisson distribution or a negative binomial distribution
for count variables. A likelihood ratio test showed that there was overdispersion
in the data for the respective models (likes: μ2 = 2384264.93, p < .001, deviance
= 3545.01; comments: μ2 = 419358.27, p < .001, deviance = 162.57). Therefore, we
Table 2. Coding protocol.
Variable Denition
Power Power involves ‘social status and prestige, control or dominance over people and resources’
(Steenhaut and Van Kenhove 2006, 139).
Achievement Achievement involves ‘personal success through demonstrating competence according to social
standards’ (Steenhaut and Van Kenhove 2006, 139).
Hedonism Hedonism involves ‘pleasure and sensuous gratication for oneself’ (Steenhaut and Van Kenhove
2006, 139).
Stimulation Stimulation involves ‘excitement, novelty, and challenge in life’ (Steenhaut and Van Kenhove
2006, 139).
Self-direction Self-direction involves ‘independent thought and action-choosing, creating, exploring’ (Steenhaut
and Van Kenhove 2006, 139).
Universalism Universalism involves ‘understanding, appreciation, tolerance and protection of the welfare of all
people and of nature’ (Steenhaut and Van Kenhove 2006, 139).
Benevolence Benevolence involves ‘preservation and enhancement of the welfare of people with whom one
is in frequent personal contact’ (Steenhaut and Van Kenhove 2006, 139).
Tradition Tradition involves ‘respect, commitment and acceptance of the customs and ideas that
traditional culture or religion provide the self’ (Steenhaut and Van Kenhove 2006, 139).
Conformity Conformity involves ‘restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses likely to upset or harm others
and violate social expectations or norms’ (Steenhaut and Van Kenhove 2006, 139).
Security Security involves ‘safety, harmony and stability of society, of relationships, and of self’ (Steenhaut
and Van Kenhove 2006, 139).
Note. 10 values were coded on a 5-point Likert scale (1= no value at all, 5 = very strong value); none of the coded
videos elicits power value; presence of conicting values was coded when at least one pair of bipolar values was
present (e.g., conservation vs. openness to change).
Table 3. Exemplary videos.
Brand Name Campaign Name URL Values
Netix Lenox Hill | Pandemic https://youtu.be/uFf6YPqh1TM Benevolence, conformity, security
Hyundai #ThisIsUs. Humanity
prevails.
https://youtu.be/RRJiYeIxJpY Universalism, benevolence, hedonism,
self-direction
Coca-Cola The Great Meal https://youtu.be/
vUMQeNw2QDA
Universalism, benevolence, security,
hedonism, self-direction
HBO It’s OK to Not Feel OK https://youtu.be/NhqYoB4QtLI Benevolence, security
Heineken Ode to Close https://youtu.be/
znNGqU73QHw
Benevolence, hedonism, conformity,
security
Nike Never Too Far Down https://youtu.be/R-t8qPldklc Achievement, self-direction,
universalism, benevolence
Google Where There’s Help,
There’s Hope
https://youtu.be/
QRRnoCHC8vg
Universalism, hedonism, benevolence,
security
14 C. LOU ETAL.
used a negative binomial model and used the coded values, presence of conflicting
emotions/values, and video metrics extracted from YouTube to predict the number
of likes or comments that they received. The fitted models predicting the number
of likes and comments, respectively, were significantly different from the
intercept-only model (see Table 4). Variance inflation factors (VIFs) were all below
4, indicating a non-significant level of multicollinearity between any two predictors
(Hair et al. 2016).
Results
The number of likes that the 286 ads received ranges from 0 to 147,965 (M = 2286.19,
SD = 11633.37), and the number of comments ranges from 0 to 28,783 (M = 256.86,
SD = 1962.45). Regarding the 10 values, none of the videos elicits power value. All
the videos elicit at least one value, with benevolence being the most frequently
embodied value (92%), followed by security (76.9%) and hedonism (28.7%).
Ad likes
Regarding the predictive influence of values, the results demonstrate that hedonism
(β = .32, p < .01), universalism (β = .24, p < .001), and conformity (β = .18, p < .001)
had a positive main effect on ad likes, whereas achievement (β = .00, NS), benevo-
lence (β = .13, NS), security (β = −.03, NS), self-direction (β = .09, NS), and stimulation
Figure 1. Overview of coding and analysis. *Nine ads’ videos were deactivated, and one video’s
metrics could not be retrieved, leaving us with 286 videos for further analysis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 15
(β = −.23, NS) showed no effect on ad likes. The effect of tradition (β = .30, p = .06)
was marginally significant on ad likes. Power value was not featured in any of the
videos and was thus removed from model testing (H3). Therefore, H1, H4, H6, and
H8 were supported, whereas H2, H5, H7, H9, and H10 were not supported. Among
the covariates, the presence of conflicting values (β = .87, p < .01), number of views
(β = .00 p < .001), sentiment of comments (β = 1.73, p < .001), video age (β = .00,
p< .001), weekend video (β = 1.08, p < .01), number of subscribers (β = .00, p < .001)
were significant predictors of ad likes.
Ad comments
Among the predicting values, hedonism (β = .33, p < .01), universalism (β = .28, p <
.001), conformity (β = .14, p < .01), security (β = .28, p < .001), and tradition (β = .72,
p < .001) were positively associated with ad comments, whereas stimulation (β =
−.62, p < .001) was negatively related to ad comments. Achievement (β = .16, NS),
benevolence (β = −.08, NS), and self-direction (β = .01, NS) did not show any signif-
icant effect on ad comments. Therefore, H1, H4, H6, H7, H8, and H10 were supported,
whereas H2, H5, and H9 were not supported. Lastly, the presence of conflicting values
(β = .60, p < .05), the number of views (β = .00, p < .001), sentiment of comments
(β = 3.28, p < .001), and number of subscribers (β = .00, p < .001) significantly pre-
dicted ad comments (see Table 4).
Table 4. Model results.
Variable
Brand Video Likes Brand Video Comments
βSE βSE
Intercept 2.12** 0.66 −0.38 0.72
Values
Hedonism 0.32** 0.10 0.33** 0.11
Achievement 0.00 0.14 0.16 0.15
Universalism 0.24*** 0.07 0.28*** 0.08
Benevolence 0.13 0.09 −0.08 0.10
Conformity 0.18*** 0.05 0.14** 0.05
Security −0.03 0.05 0.28*** 0.05
Tradition 0.30† 0.16 0.72*** 0.17
Self-direction 0.09 0.09 0.01 0.07
Stimulation −0.23 0.15 −0.62*** 0.15
Video features
Presence of conicting value 0.87** 0.28 0.60* 0.28
Number of views 0.00*** 0.00 0.00*** 0.00
Sentiment in the comments 1.73*** 0.24 3.28*** 0.24
Video length 0.00† 0.00 0.00 0.00
Video age 0.00*** 0.00 0.00 0.00
Weekend post 1.08** 0.39 0.51 0.35
Number of subscribers 0.00*** 0.00 0.00*** 0.00
Overdispersion (a) 3.57 3.27
AIC 3986.76 2553.10
BIC 4048.79 2615.25
Likelihood Ratio 22 (16) = 787.17, p < .001 2 (16) = 1227.77, p < .001
Note.
†p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001; AIC = Akaike’s Information Criterion; BIC = Bayesian Information
Criterion.
16 C. LOU ETAL.
Other descriptives (topics of the ads and values)
Our results also showed that six prevailing topics emerged in the ads, including brands’
action against COVID-19 (e.g., donation, safety measures) (N = 79, 32%), brands’ support
for prosocial campaigns like stay home and social distancing (N = 22, 9%), positive
message of encouragement (N = 43, 17%), promoting product or brand image (N = 33,
13%), gratitude toward frontline workers, employees and others (N = 39, 16%), and
focusing on the return after the pandemic (N = 30, 12%) (see Table 5 for coding pro-
tocol and descriptives). The featured nine values vary significantly across the six topics.
In particular, ads showcasing brands’ action against COVID-19 evoked highest level of
benevolence (M = 4.61, SD = .88). Ads focusing on brands’ support for prosocial cam-
paigns elicited highest level of hedonism (M = 2.45, SD = 1.71), conformity (M = 3.68,
SD = 1.76), and security (M = 4.50, SD = 1.06). Ads focusing on positive messages
evoked highest level of self-direction (M = 2.00, SD = 1.53), universalism (M = 1.67, SD
= 1.38), and tradition (M = 1.23, SD = .87). Ads promoting product/brand image elicited
highest level of achievement (M = 1.36, SD = 1.03). Lastly, ads focusing on the return
after the pandemic evoked highest level of stimulation (M = 1.17, SD = .65) (see Table 6).
Table 5. Themes of videos.
Topics N (%)
Topic 1
Brands’ action against COVID-19 (e.g., how brands participated in ghting against COVID-19
and how brands reacted and took measures to help atten the curve.)
79 (32.11%)
Topic 2
Brands’ advocacy of prosocial campaigns (e.g., #stayhome campaign, wear a mask, social
distancing, and others.)
22 (8.94%)
Topic 3
Messages of support, encouragement, and improvement (e.g., delivering positive messages,
providing emotional support, and giving hope to consumers amid the health crisis.)
43 (17.48%)
Topic 4
Sales of products or brand image (e.g., utilizing the COVID-19 situation as the context of
persuasive strategies to continue selling products and promoting brands image.)
33 (13.41%)
Topic 5
Gratitude towards individuals and organizations (e.g., frontline workers, healthcare
professionals, charities, citizens, among others.)
39 (15.85%)
Topic 6
Focusing on the return after the pandemic (e.g., appealing to return to new normality and
promoting new ways of working, shopping, transportation, and others.)
30 (12.20%)
Total 246* (100%)
Note.
*40 videos’ URLs were deactivated during recoding and were not included.
Table 6. Summary statistics of values across dierent topics.
Topic 1 Topic 2 Topic 3 Topic 4 Topic 5 Topic 6 F (5, 240)a
N79 22 43 33 39 30
Achievement 1.00 1.00 1.07 1.36 1.00 1.10 14.83***
Hedonism 1.20 2.45 2.44 1.67 1.31 2.33 27.68***
Stimulation 1.00 1.00 1.12 1.09 1.08 1.17 4.27***
Self-direction 1.19 1.55 2.00 1.42 1.21 1.87 15.25***
Universalism 1.43 1.00 1.67 1.12 1.15 1.20 11.33***
Benevolence 4.61 4.14 4.09 3.36 4.54 3.80 4.84***
Tradition 1.03 1.00 1.23 1.06 1.00 1.00 9.780***
Conformity 1.63 3.68 1.16 1.39 1.13 1.83 14.97***
Security 4.20 4.50 2.79 3.42 2.67 4.03 5.16***
Note. a. Based on a MANOVA test with the topic as xed factor and values as dependent variables.
Wilks’s lambda = 0.37, F = 5.69, p < 0.001.
**p < .01; ***p < .001.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 17
General discussion
Well-versed handling of brand communications in times of crisis has always been
crucial for the success of any given brand (Coombs 2007, 2015). Prior research on
organizational crisis management has often applied SCCT and investigated the effects
of matches or mismatches between crisis types and response strategies on organiza-
tional reputation or public reactions (e.g., Claeys, Cauberghe, and Vyncke 2010; Grappi
and Romani 2015; Kim, Avery, and Lariscy 2009; Krishna and Vibber 2017; Schoofs
et al. 2019; Sisco 2012; Sisco, Collins, and Zoch 2010). Some studies also focused on
how brands could remedy brand image when brands were involved in accidental or
preventable crises (e.g., Laufer and Coombs 2006; Simola 2003). In particular, victim
crises have been argued to be understudied because of their assumed minimal impact
on organizational reputation (Krishna and Vibber 2017). Also, considering the unique
nature of the pandemic – ‘the relative effects of the crisis begin to dissolve but the
crisis continues’ (Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül 2022, 14), we develop a new type of
victim crisis – omnipresent victim crisis – and offer a theorization of this sub-type of
victim crisis to delineate the pandemic or crises alike (e.g., environmental issues) for
future research. Our research contributes to the literature on victim cluster crises (e.g.,
Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül 2022; Kim, Avery, and Lariscy 2009; Krishna and Vibber
2017; Mason 2019; Sisco, Collins, and Zoch 2010; Sisco 2012; Zhou and Ki 2018). This
could be also applicable to other victim crises like the deteriorating environmental
issues faced by all humankind. Furthermore, the current work extends the current
literature on the models of values during the pandemic (Schwartz 1992). Specifically,
we add to the inquiries regarding how values have been prioritized and how indi-
viduals or organizations have adjusted their values in responding to significant changes
in the environment – including the current pandemic and other major changes like
health adversity, financial crisis, or terrorist attack (e.g., Bleidorn, Schwaba, and
Hopwood 2021; Bojanowska et al. 2021; Daniel et al. 2022; Iosifyan and Arina 2021;
Lake et al. 2021; Sortheix et al. 2019; Verkasalo, Goodwin, and Bezmenova 2006).
In particular, our findings reveal that conservation value (i.e., conformity, security,
and tradition), emphasizing stability and order, has become important in
pandemic-themed advertising and it positively predicts consumer engagement (com-
menting). Second, self-enhancement value in pandemic-themed advertising – hedo-
nism that often involves pleasure and sensuous gratifications – also positively predicts
engagement (both liking and commenting). Third, self-transcendence value – uni-
versalism emphasizing the protection of the welfare of all people and nature – also
positively influences engagement (both liking and commenting). Lastly, openness to
change values – stimulation, characterized by novelty and challenges in life – neg-
atively predict consumer engagement (commenting). Specifically, we uncovered
largely consistent patterns regarding how values predict consumer liking and com-
menting in pandemic-themed advertising. The results show that self-enhancement
value – hedonism – positively predicts consumer engagement (both liking and
comments). We argue that consumers are likely to engage with ads featuring indul-
gent behaviors (hedonism value) to manage terror during the pandemic (Pyszczynski
et al. 2021).
However, we found that achievement value is not significant in predicting consumer
engagement. This could be because people tend to prioritize ‘intrinsic values involving
18 C. LOU ETAL.
emotional meaning over long-term goals’ like achievement or status when faced with
a serious health threat like the COVID-19 (Bleidorn, Schwaba, and Hopwood 2021,
248). Regarding self-transcendence values (i.e., universalism, benevolence), universalism
has been found to positively influence consumer engagement (both liking and com-
menting). Since the value of universalism focuses on understanding and protection
of the wellbeing of all mankind and nature (Steenhaut and Van Kenhove 2006), it
resonates with the goal of the majority during the pandemic and thus engages con-
sumers. On one hand, conservation values (i.e., tradition, conformity, and security)
are positively related to consumer engagement, especially commenting. We argue
that the fear and threat aroused by the pandemic can drive consumers to seek con-
formity, security, and tradition (e.g., Defever, Pandelaere, and Roe 2011; Griskevicius
et al. 2009). On the other hand, we also show that openness to change values (i.e.,
stimulation) are negatively predicting consumer commenting. We argue that the
stimulation value, emphasizing novelty and challenge in life (Steenhaut and Van
Kenhove 2006), is not matchable with the safety and survival concerns of the majority
during the pandemic. This thus negatively affects consumer engagement. However,
self-direction is not significantly predicting consumer engagement, it may be because
self-direction had decreased at the pandemic onset but bounced back at the later
stage (Daniel et al. 2022). In particular, self-direction value was not stable and fluc-
tuated after the pandemic onset, which could be because critical thinking, creativity,
and exploration have been applied by individuals to navigate health information and
maintain interests by exploring artistic and intellectual activities in their daily lives
(Daniel et al. 2022).
Theoretical contributions
First, our findings contribute to the literature on organizational responses to victim
crises (e.g., Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül 2022; Kim, Avery, and Lariscy 2009; Krishna
and Vibber 2017; Mason 2019; Sisco, Collins, and Zoch 2010; Sisco 2012; Zhou and
Ki 2018) and respond to the call for more studies regarding the currently understudied
victim cluster crises (Krishna and Vibber 2017). Our proposed new theorization –
omnipresent victim crisis – delineates a particular sub-type of victim crisis and lays
the foundation for future researchers to study crises alike (e.g., environmental issues).
Specifically, we highlight the dynamic and fluid nature of this omnipresent victim
crisis, which entails a fluctuating level of responsibility attribution to involved orga-
nizations. This is something new that is not covered in the original definition of victim
crisis (Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül 2022). This conceptualization creates possibilities to
explicate the more nuanced issues related to victim crisis and crisis responses and
thus advances the current crisis literature.
Second, we further extend the understanding of crisis communications in the
pandemic context through the lens of values (Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül 2022). We
connect the value embodiment literature to the crisis literature. Extant literature on
the application of values in crisis literature has been nascent (e.g., Bleidorn, Schwaba,
and Hopwood 2021; Bojanowska et al. 2021; Daniel et al. 2013; Daniel et al. 2022;
Lake etal. 2021; Sortheix et al. 2019; Verkasalo, Goodwin, and Bezmenova 2006), with
most of them focusing on individuals’ value changes during crises. This research is
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 19
among the first few to analyze how portrayals of values in organizational responses
(or pandemic-themed advertising) manifest in the pandemic (e.g., Bojanowska et al.
2021; Daniel et al. 2022; Lake et al. 2021) and how these values affect a particular
advertising outcome – consumer engagement. This research advances our under-
standing of how value portrayals in organizational crisis responses affect consumer
reactions.
Third, this research further advances the application of Schwartz’s (1992) model of
values in the advertising literature. Hofstede’s cultural value typology has been more
widely researched in the cross-cultural advertising and marketing literature. This study
contributes to the advertising literature by researching the understudied value typol-
ogy of Schwartz (Okazaki and Mueller 2007). Prior literature often looked at the impact
of values on consumers’ evaluations of business practices or social responsibility
(Hetsroni 2000; Park et al. 2019; Steenhaut and Van Kenhove 2006). We found values
of hedonism, universalism, conformity, security, and tradition can positively predict
consumer engagement (commenting). This highlights the role of value inculcation in
the efficacy of brand communications, which has heretofore been understudied com-
pared to other message features (e.g., emotions, appeals, framing). It is plausible that
the hedonism value depicted in advertisements remains a stable component that is
expected by consumers, even during the pandemic. Specific to the pandemic context,
it is not surprising to see that the self-transcendence value – universalism – is greatly
appreciated when brands show commitment to their communities and consumers.
Furthermore, given the salience of mortality, the conservation values – conformity,
security, and tradition – have been prioritized by consumers. By contrast, the
self-enhancement value – achievement – did not significantly predict consumer
engagement. This could be because personal success and competence during the
pandemic are ostensibly not congruent with the primary goals of safety and survival.
For future research, Schwartz’s (1992) model of values can be an efficient framework
to examine the efficacy of content marketing (i.e., non-hard-sell brand-generated
content), brand activism (e.g., brands taking a stance on controversial social issues
like racial justice), and other types of innovative brand communications (e.g.,
cross-cultural brand communications, social marketing promoting prosocial behaviors).
We also acknowledge that values featured in brand communications, which often
resonate with the target audience, seem to be flexible and adaptive that respond to
external environmental changes.
Lastly, this study also advances the current literature on the antecedents that
contribute to consumer engagement with online advertising (e.g., likes, comments;
Berger and Milkman 2012; Hughes, Swaminathan, and Brooks 2019; Kujur and Singh
2018). Specific to content features, recent literature has often examined the impact
of source characteristics or emotions manifested in branded content on consumer
engagement (e.g., Hughes, Swaminathan, and Brooks 2019; Kujur and Singh 2018).
Yet, this research is the first to look into the roles of values inherent in brand content
strategies and call attention to how this more complex yet universal value embod-
iment in brand communications influences consumer engagement on social media.
In particular, we argue that advertisements should feature values that are matchable
with the schema of the target consumers in a given setting. For instance, in the
pandemic context, congruent values (e.g., universalism, hedonism, conformity, security,
20 C. LOU ETAL.
and tradition) that reflect the concern and goal of the majority are likely to receive
higher engagement, whereas incongruent values (e.g., stimulation) are likely to neg-
atively affect consumer engagement toward brand communications. These findings
add to our understanding of the effectiveness of consumer-brand alignment in the
broad advertising context, also in particular scenarios like the recent brand activism
phenomenon (e.g., Mukherjee and Althuizen 2020).
Practical implications
This research provides a systematic and actionable paradigm for brands to effectively
communicate with consumers during the pandemic or other public crises. It is now
understandable that McDonald’s ads (separating their arches logo) may be considered
as taking advantage of the pandemic to promote their brand, instead of sympathizing
with consumers or offering concrete help (although the brand did such afterward).
We also see that Nike’s ‘You Can’t Stop Us’ ad upholds the self-transcendence values
by calling for solidarity and commitment to the interest of all humankind and thus
has received favorable reactions from consumers. Specifically, our findings suggest
that brands can customize their brand communications more scientifically to cater
to varied scenarios. In a given crisis, brands can try to build rapport with consumers
by highlighting the potential values felt among them. For instance, brands should
feature values that are salient and matchable with consumers’ goals to survive (i.e.,
conformity, security, and tradition). Brands can also feature hedonism value to distract
consumers from the terror or uncertainty faced by them. Furthermore, brands can
also emphasize the universalism value and demonstrate their care for the welfare of
all humankind. The findings are not only applicable to the current pandemic, but
also point to new directions for brand communications when addressing future victim
crises (e.g., environmental hazards). We suggest that brands can map out prominent
values upheld by the majority of target consumers and echo them in their brand
communications. Taken together, the current findings offer concrete and validated
strategies for brands’ content creation and operationalization during major victim
crises, which are expected to be more efficient in predicting brand communication
efficacy than before.
Limitations and future research directions
Several avenues for further research are worth considering. First, although this study
adopts a mixed-method approach in which we coded a large corpus of
pandemic-themed ads, the current findings only uncovered correlational relations
between the key constructs. Future research can conduct experiments (e.g., manip-
ulating the presence of certain values) to verify causal relations between values and
consumer reactions. Second, this study mainly focused on consumer engagement
– liking and commenting – and did not differentiate the valence of comments. Future
research can further tap into the relationship between values and other advertising
outcomes. Third, the current findings are largely COVID-19-specific, which may be
also applicable to similar omnipresent victim crises like environmental issues. Future
research can examine brand communications during omnipresent victim crises to
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING 21
cross-reference the validity and robustness of the proposed paradigm for brand
communications. Also, while our data set covers brand videos from the onset of
COVID-19 to half a year later (March 2020 - September 2020) and also spans a mul-
titude of product categories and regions, it essentially covers the early stage of the
brand communications during COVID-19. Given that the pandemic is fluid and con-
tinues into the third year as of now, we encourage future research to investigate
brand responses and values embodied in different stages to offer a more compre-
hensive understanding of brand communications during an omnipresent victim crisis.
Lastly, this research focused on pandemic-themed ads on YouTube and YouTuber
users’ engagement with those ads, with most of the ads being created and dissem-
inated by large, multinational brands. We also acknowledge that YouTube users may
not be a representative sample of the general population and those ads considered
may not speak to smaller, emerging brands, which limits the generalizability of the
current finings. Future research should survey a national sample to gauge the cor-
relations between the characteristics of pandemic-themed ads and consumer
engagement.
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank the reviewers and editors for their invaluable reviews that have helped
us enormously in strengthening this article to reach its full potential.
Notes on contributors
Chen Lou (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is an Assistant Professor of Integrated Marketing
Communication in the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI) at
Nanyang Technological University (NT U), Singapore. Her research focuses on consumer psy-
chology and innovative brand communications. Within this context, she has looked into the
eects and mechanisms of a variety of brand communications (e.g., inuencer marketing,
content marketing strategies, multicultural advertising), as well as the roles of social and psy-
chological factors in the persuasion process. Her work has appeared in top-tier journals in both
advertising and communication, including the Journal of Advertising, International Journal of
Advertising, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, among others. She was awarded
the 2021 Mary Alice Shaver Promising Professor Award by the American Academy of
Advertising (AAA).
Xuan Zhou (M.S., University of Edinburgh) is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Wee Kim Wee School of
Communication and Information (WKWSCI) at Nanyang Technological University (NT U),
Singapore. Her research focuses on brand communications, advertising eects, social media,
and consumer psychology.
Xun (Irene) Huang (Ph.D., The Chinese University of Hong Kong) is an Assistant Professor of
Marketing at Nanyang Business School. Her main research areas include consumer psychology,
branding, sensory experiences, and specic emotions. Her research has been published in
top-tier marketing and psychology journals including Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing
Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, International Journal
of Research in Marketing, among others. She was awarded the 2019 Marketing Science Institute
(MSI) Young Scholar.
Chen Qiu (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is an Associate Professor at the Computer Science
School of Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWP U), China. His research focuses on
22 C. LOU ETAL.
pervasive computing, mobile computing, and applied machine learning areas. He is particularly
interested in location-based services, personalized recommendation solutions, lightweighted
learning systems, and mobile crowd sensing. His work has appeared in journals and conferences
in pervasive computing and articial intelligence, including IEEE PerCom, Information Processing
and Management, Wireless Networks, Pervasive and Mobile Computing, among others. He was
awarded the T IM outstanding reviewer by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE).
Mingquan Yuan (Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis) joined Walmart Global Tech after
receiving his Ph.D. in Computer Science. His research interests include computer vision,
ne-grained item recognition, anomaly detection, and wireless sensing techniques. His work
has appeared in journals and conferences in the areas of data science and wireless sensing,
including International Conference on Data Engineering (ICDE) and IEEE Sensors Journal. As a
Sta Data Scientist within Walmart, he has lead a team successfully architected and developed
an enterprise level product recognition system with high availability, scalability and resiliency.
Disclosure statement
No potential conict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This study is supported by the rst author’s Tier 1 grant from the Ministry of Education,
Singapore (number: M4012201.060).
Data availability statement
The original dataset has been extracted from YouTube videos; The generated coding results
for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.
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Appendix: Crisis types in SCCT and relevant research
Crisis Types Relevant Crisis Cases Response Strategies
Victim cluster: an
organization is also
a victim of the crisis
(e.g., natural disaster,
rumors, workplace
violence; Coombs
2006)
• Sony being
cyber-attacked (Krishna
and Vibber 2017)
• Hurricane Harvey (Liu,
Lai, and Xu 2018)
• COVID-19 pandemic
(Atasoy, Türkay, and
Şengül 2022)
• Strategies for victim crises include denial, attacking
the accuser, and scapegoating (Coombs 2007;
Coombs and Holladay 2007).
• Practitioners can craft crisis responses and adapt
communication plans based on the tone and
content of online comments (Krishna and Vibber
2017).
• Organizational crisis communication is suggested
to incorporate multiple relevant actions and actors
to signal the involvement level, aliation, or value
judgment of other actors (Liu, Lai, and Xu 2018).
• After the outbreak of COVID-19, hotels initially
emphasized them being victims and denied
responsibility, but later took responsibility to fulll
safety and health measures and compensation
practices, constituting a rebuilding strategy
(Atasoy, Türkay, and Şengül 2022)
Accidental cluster:
crises are caused
unintentionally by
the organization
(e.g., challenges,
technical-error
accidents; Coombs
2006)
• Mattel product recalls
(Choi and Lin 2009)
• A cell phone battery
explosion accident (Kim
and Cameron 2011)
• Diminish strategies (excuse and justication) have
been recommended for accidental crises (Coombs
2007; Coombs and Holladay 2007).
• Crisis communication should focus on decreasing
public’s perceived alert during the early stage of a
crisis in order to protect brand reputation (Choi
and Lin 2009).
• The role of emotional appeals in crisis responses
can be contingent on pre-existing media coverage.
When the media have adopted sadness-inducing
(anger-inducing) frames for an organizational crisis,
intensive (sparse) emotional appeals can help
deliver a more eective brand message (Kim and
Cameron 2011).
Preventable cluster:
crises occurred due
to inappropriate
actions or violations
of a law/regulation
(e.g., human-error
accidents, misdeeds;
Coombs 2006)
• Love Parade crisis in
Germany 2010 (Schwarz
2012)
• Volkswagen’s emission
scandal (Stieglitz et al.
2019)
• Rebuild strategies (compensation and apology)
have often been proposed for preventable crises
(Coombs 2007; Coombs and Holladay 2007).
• For a crisis caused by human error, organizations
blaming others and denying responsibility can
negatively aect organizational reputation
(Schwarz 2012).
• Brands should take advantage of social media to
rebuild legitimacy and engage with users more
actively and transparently during preventable
crises (Stieglitz et al. 2019).
