AI-driven advertising: Enhancing brand evangelism through coolness

Abstract

The digital age has transformed advertising, introducing new channels, shifting consumer behavior, and accelerating technology (Ciarli et al., 2021). Brands like Coca-Cola, Nike, and BMW use AI to stand out (Cui et al., 2024). Research shows consumers struggle to distinguish AI-generated from human-made ads, raising concerns about authenticity (Lee & Kim, 2024; Magni et al., 2024). Despite growing research on AI and advertising, the impact of ad creativity on brand coolness and consumer behavior remains underexplored, especially regarding brand evangelism (Warren et al., 2019; Rodrigues et al., 2023). Grounded in schema theory, this study uses a quantitative approach to: (1) explore the link between advertising creativity and perceived coolness, and (2) examine how coolness impacts brand evangelism in AI-generated advertising. Brand evangelism describes a strong, personal bond where consumers passionately promote a brand beyond casual support (Schnebelen & Bruhn, 2018). This study builds on existing theories (Becerra & Badrinarayanan, 2013) to explore how coolness deepens engagement, and to investigate how cool AI-generated ads can turn consumers into devoted brand advocates.