Offensive Advertisements Influence You More Than Me: An Examination of the Third-Person Effects in the Chinese Cultural Context

Abstract

This study examined the third-person effect (TPE) hypothesis (Davison, 1983) in offensive advertising in the Chinese cultural context. Based on a survey of 1,539 Chinese Internet users about the third- and firstperson effects among offensive ads, neutral ads, and public service ads, the study inquires into the relationship between the TPE and respondents’ levels of acceptance toward advertising. Besides confirming the TPE existence in an Eastern cultural context, the results suggest that the TPE predict wordof-mouth (WOM) spreading for both offensive and neutral product ads, but not for PSAs. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.