Objective: With the rise of short-form video platforms, personal ads and corporate ads have become central to brand communication, yet the difference in their effects and how those effects are shaped by the usage of different call-to-action types is not well understood. This study examines the effects of user-generated content ads, referred to as personal ads in this study, and brand-generated content ads, referred to as corporate ads in this study, in combination with different call-to-action (transactional, relational, or absent), on consumers’ perceived authenticity, trust, disengagement intentions, and purchase intentions.
Method: To address this, the study uses quantitative 2 (advertisement type: personal, corporate) × 3 (call-to-action type: transactional, relational, absent) between-subjects experimental design with 209 young adult participants (18-34). Each participant views a video of a simulated TikTok feed video containing neutral videos alongside one advertisement corresponding to their condition, after which they complete survey measures of authenticity, trust, disengagement intentions, purchase intentions and perceived intrusiveness, which was examined as a control variable.
Results: The findings showed limited direct effects of advertisement type and call-to-action type on consumer responses, with only one hypothesis supported, indicating a positive association between perceived authenticity and trust. However, additional analyses revealed a significant interaction between advertisement type and call-to-action type for perceived authenticity. Corporate advertisements with relational calls-to-actions received significantly lower authenticity ratings than personal advertisements with relational or transactional calls-to-actions and corporate advertisements without a call-to-action. A similar interaction pattern was observed for trust, although effect was relatively small, and post-hoc comparisons did not reveal significant pairwise differences. In addition, perceived authenticity and trust were significantly associated with disengagement intentions and purchase intentions, while perceived intrusiveness was positively associated with disengagement intentions.
Theoretical and practical implications: The findings contribute to authenticity theory and source credibility research by showing that authenticity and trust in short-form video advertisements may depend less on advertisement type or call-to-action type alone and more on their congruence and how the advertisement is perceived by audiences. For practitioners, the results highlight the importance of designing advertisements that appear authentic, trustworthy, and less intrusive rather than relying only on specific call-to-action and advertisement types.
Conclusion: Consumer responses to short-form video advertisements may depend less on advertisement type and call-to-action type alone and more on perceptions of authenticity, trust, and intrusiveness, as well as the fit between advertisement type and call-to-action framing.