Brand activism and consumer involvement: a mixed-method study on a digital ad campaign

Purpose This study aims to investigate how consumers’ cognitive and affective involvement, along with their perceived creativity, in activist-themed digital advertisements featuring interactive applications (e.g. AR tools), affect their sharing and recommending behaviors of these ads. This study also explores the moderating role of consumer attitudes toward interactive applications within the framework of brand activism. Design/methodology/approach Using a sequential mixed-methods design, this study combines a quantitative survey (n = 500) and qualitative in-depth interviews (n = 20) with consumers from Türkiye who experienced the #myheritagewater campaign, recognized as one of Türkiye’s most impactful sustainability initiatives. The quantitative phase applies structural equation modeling to test hypotheses regarding involvement, perceived creativity, attitudes toward interactivity and engagement behaviors. The qualitative phase used thematic analysis to explore consumers’ emotional, cognitive and behavioral responses to the campaign’s AR-based application. Findings The quantitative results showed that cognitive involvement and perceived creativity significantly predicted both sharing and recommending behaviors. Affective involvement significantly affected sharing behavior, but not recommending. Behavioral attitudes toward interactive applications strongly influenced both dependent variables. Qualitative findings supported these results and further revealed that AR-enhanced features increased environmental awareness and fostered behavioral transformation through immersive experiences. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by integrating the consumer involvement theory to examine how immersive technologies in activist-themed advertising affect multidimensional engagement. This study also highlights the role of perceived creativity and interactivity in shaping consumers’ ethical and behavioral responses, offering insights for both scholars and practitioners designing technology-driven, socially responsible campaigns.