Green but ignored? The irrelevance of television advertisements on energy sustainability in Spain and its impact on consumer perceptions

Abstract

Driven by a growing concern by governments and citizens for the sustainability of our planet, companies have begun to include concepts associated with the protection of the environment in their marketing strategies. This trend, which has mainly developed since the first decade of the 21st century [1], manifests itself significantly in advertising [2,3]. According to the study sponsored by TerraChoice entitled “The Seven Sins of Greenwashing”, 10% of all advertisements broadcasted in the United States in 2008 contained some reference to the environment and the quantity of advertisement campaigns associating brands, products and services to the protection of the ecosystem tripled between 2006 and 2008 [4]. This increase is in line with the findings of a study sponsored by the European Commission in 2014, which revealed that 70% of the magazine advertisements analyzed contained some reference to the environment, either in the company logo, the text, the image or the background color [2]. In this context it would be reasonable to expect that the Spanish energy sector would also engage in a similar practice and increase its commitment to the environment with green communication. This has raised certain questions such as: Is this true? Would it be possible to identify a trend towards green advertising in the Spanish energy sector and with what kind of effects? How would Spanish consumers react to this possible new trend? How would green advertising affect consumers’ brand perceptions and purchasing intentions? The purpose of this study is to examine the evolution of the Spanish domestic energy sector’s television advertising campaigns over a period of 15 years and analyze consumers’ brand perceptions and purchasing intentions.