About the Project
Deceptive advertising involves false, misleading, or incomplete claims designed to influence consumer perceptions and decisions. Such practices may include omitting relevant information, presenting misleading sources, exaggerating product performance, or using branding cues that create false associations. Examples include unsupported health claims, misleading nutritional information, and "country sounding" branding, where products are presented as originating from countries with stronger…
reputations than their actual country of origin.
Despite regulations designed to protect consumers, deceptive marketing practices remain widespread and may undermine consumer trust and perceptions of brand authenticity. This project investigates how consumers respond to deceptive advertising and how these practices affect trust, decision-making, and consumer vulnerability.
The research has three objectives: 1) examine how deceptive advertising claims influence consumer purchasing decisions and 2) analyse the role of brand trust in shaping responses to potentially deceptive advertising.
The project will use a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, including interviews, experiments and surveys. The findings will contribute to academic research and support evidence-based guidelines for more ethical and transparent marketing practices.
