Title: Exploring Generation Z's use of the reputation heuristic when processing memetic advertisements

Authors: Christopher Vardeman

Addresses: Department of Mass Communication, Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252, USA

Abstract: Advertisers have shown increasing interest in using internet memes to advertise to younger demographics on social media. However, scholarly research pertaining to memetic advertising remains limited. Using the heuristic-systematic model, this study demonstrates via two discrete samples of Generation Z participants (n = 416 and n = 288) that the reputation heuristic influences attitudes toward memes intended as brand advertisements. A successfully replicated 2×2 between-subjects experiment reveals that Generation Z consumers evaluate advertising memes containing real brand names more favourably than memes containing fictitious brand names, and that this effect is amplified when participants are primed to consider brand reputation. This suggests that using internet memes as advertisements may be a more worthwhile endeavour for established, reputable brands than for new or unfamiliar brands due to consumers' associative considerations of name recognition, brand knowledge, and credibility. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Keywords: advertising; brand advertising; digital advertising; experimental research; marketing; memes; heuristics; priming; psychology; quantitative research; social media.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMA.2026.153954

International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 2026 Vol.24 No.4, pp.373 - 394

Received: 30 Nov 2022
Accepted: 10 Mar 2024
Published online: 09 Jun 2026 *

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