Title: Misinformation effects and rational advertising: consumer responses to advertising claims verifiable by blockchain-supported QR codes

Authors: Ian Brennan; Juyun Cho

Addresses: Department of Management and Marketing, Hasan School of Business, Colorado State University-Pueblo, Pueblo, CO, USA ' Department of Computer Information Systems, Hasan School of Business, Colorado State University-Pueblo, Pueblo, CO, USA

Abstract: Prior research indicates that post-consumption exposure to transformational advertising induces a misinformation effect (i.e., subjects falsely recall a more favourable consumption experience). The present study utilises a laboratory experiment to examine the extent to which such a misinformation effect may be induced by exposure to blockchain-supported, informational advertising which purports to transfer a claim about an attribute (product freshness) - typically perceived by consumers as a credence quality - into a search quality. Subjects who were either knowledgeable or naive about blockchain capabilities were exposed to blockchain-supported advertising. After exposure to the advertising, subjects used their smartphones to scan a product QR code and verify the supply-chain data of a product that they had tasted previously. A control group subjects were not exposed to the blockchain-supported advertising. The results indicate that advertising exposure increased perceptions of a product attribute (freshness) among blockchain knowledgeable and to an even greater extent among blockchain naive subjects in comparison with the perceptions subjects not exposed to the advertising; however, in contrast to prior studies on transformational advertising, informational advertising exposure did not bias taste memories. The blockchain-supported advertising did increased brand evaluations only among blockchain naive subjects.

Keywords: false memories; blockchain; misinformation effect; informational advertising; QR codes; credence claim; product freshness; taste recall.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMA.2025.149662

International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 2025 Vol.23 No.4, pp.361 - 387

Received: 13 Jul 2022
Accepted: 09 Apr 2023
Published online: 10 Nov 2025 *

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