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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Advertising for Sustainability – Promoting Sustainably Produced Food to Finnish Consumers

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The objective of this research is to analyse the amount and the content of food advertisements from three Finnish magazines from the years 2006-2007 and 2010-2012. Moreover, the aim is to outline what are the values reflected in the appeals used to advertise sustainably produced food to Finnish consumers. The diffusion of innovations –theory together with a theoretical framework consisting of three value orientations related sustainably oriented behaviour is used. A gradual increase in the popularity of sustainably produced food is indeed visible in the quantity as well as the content of advertisements from the years 2010-2012 compared to 2006-2007. The appeals of the earlier advertisements were often rational and more related to egoistic or altruistic values. Whereas, in the advertisements from the years 2010-2012, positive emotional appeals were used containing both egoistic and altruistic values; and biospheric values were related to positive emotional appeals. The findings of this research yield new information about how sustainably produced food has been marketed to a larger group of Finnish consumers. peerReviewed