The Effect of Charity Advertising on Donations and Support for Aid Policies for Foreign Residents

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of charity advertising in promoting the intention to aid foreign residents. There are two types of charity advertising: one describing the predicament of the aid recipient and the other emphasizing the effectiveness of the aid itself. Participants were shown one of these two types of advertisements and were then asked about their intention to donate to the organization that supports foreign residents, along with their degree of agreement with the support policies. The participants were asked to rate their attitudes toward foreign residents. The results showed that among high perspective takers, those presented with advertisements depicting foreign residents in distress donated a greater amount of money and reported stronger support for aid policies compared to those presented with advertisements emphasizing the effectiveness of the aid. The advertisements did not affect attitudes toward foreign residents. The implications of these findings for promoting aid to foreign residents are discussed.