Advertising and demand for Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs)

Demand for Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) plays an increasing and outsize role in CO2 emissions. Some recent evidence suggests that advertising is partially responsible for SUV demand, but, to our knowledge, no primary research has examined this relationship directly with the use of sophisticated statistical tools. In order to fill this gap, we designed a survey and then obtained data from UK residents who either owned an SUV, owned a standard car but not a large motor vehicle, or owned no motor vehicle. Respondents reported on-line about their exposure to SUV adverts and to pro-ecological transport messages (e.g., encouraging the use of public transport). After statistically controlling for 10 demographic variables and 3 general advertising exposure variables, results showed that exposure to SUV adverts was significantly positively associated with current ownership of an SUV. For example, compared to a person who reports that s/he is "rarely" exposed to SUV  advertisements, a person who reports that s/he is “sometimes" exposed to SUV advertisements is 71% more likely to own an SUV than a standard car and is 250% more likely to own an SUV than to own no motor  vehicle. Exposure to SUV adverts was also positively associated with desire to purchase an SUV. For example, a person who reports being exposed to SUV advertising "sometimes" would score almost a half point higher on the 5-point rating scale of desire to purchase an SUV than would someone who reports being exposed to SUV advertising "rarely." In contrast to these results for exposure to SUV adverts, exposure to pro-ecological transport messages was unrelated to any measure of demand for an SUV. That is, such positive environmental messages appear to be irrelevant to SUV demand and are, in effect, drowned out by SUV adverts. These findings suggest that governmental and campaigning groups that are trying to reduce CO2 emissions from SUVs may do well to focus at least as much on ending the practice of SUV advertising as on sending pro-ecological transport messages to the general public.