From Backlash to Brand Loyalty: How Self-Congruity and Generation Shape Consumer Intentions After a Failed Influencer Campaign

Authors

Dexter L. Purnell, University of North TexasFollow
Kimberly V. Legocki, University of San FranciscoFollow
Steven R. Barnes, University of North TexasFollow
Jessica Chapman, University of North TexasFollow

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

This study examines consumer responses to corporate social advocacy (CSA) surrounding Bud Light’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. We fielded a cross-sectional survey of U.S. beer drinkers (N = 386) measuring actual and ideal self-congruity, generational cohort, and purchase intention. Using PROCESS Model 4 with bootstrap confidence intervals, we tested whether self-congruity mediates the relationship between generation and purchase intention. Self-congruity strongly predicted purchase intention, and indirect effects of generation via both actual and ideal self-congruity were statistically significant. Conditional (contrast-specific) indirect effects were observed only for Gen X, indicating cohort-specific pathways from CSA to purchase intention through identity alignment; direct effects of generation were not significant. Results were robust with demographic covariates. These findings challenge the notion that a brand's advocacy stance is the primary driver of consumer reaction, instead highlighting the importance of ensuring that brand messaging resonates with consumers' self-concept. For managers, this suggests a shift towards audience segmentation based on psychological alignment to craft more effective and less divisive CSA campaigns that build brand equity.