Would You Buy a New Car from this Frog?

Have you seen the ads featuring Kermit ("I Guess It Is Easy Being Green") the Frog promoting Ford's hybrid SUV the Escape? It made its debut as a 30-second TV commercial during the Super Bowl, and it's been tough to avoid ever since.

Just the other day, I ran into the ads three times (in three formats): while watching the Olympics on TV, turning the pages of the New Yorker magazine, and browsing Yahoo! News on the Web.

This is not the first time Kermit and his Muppet friends have been used in an advertising campaign. And it's hardly the first example of so-called "green advertising."

But it may be the first time a big "star" has been used to sell consumers on the environment-friendly features of as big-ticket an item as an automobile, let alone one as environmentally frowned upon on as an SUV.

Who is it aimed it? Will it work? How does it differ from other green advertising campaigns? How will consumers respond?

The following list shows some of the ways scholars have looked at green advertising during the last two decades. With Kermit now leading the charge, is it time for another look?

Banerjee, S., & Gulas, C. S. (1995). Shades of green: A multidimensional analysis of environmental advertising. Journal of Advertising, 24(2), 21.

Carlson, L., Grove, S. J., Laczniak, R. N., & Kangun, N. (1996). Does environmental advertising reflect integrated marketing communications?: An empirical investigation. Journal of Business Research, 37(3), 225-232. O’Neill Stacks HF5001 .J14

Iyer, E., & Banerjee, B. (1993). Anatomy of green advertising. Advances in Consumer Research, 20(1), 494-501.

Kilbourne, W. E. (2004). Sustainable communication and the dominant social paradigm: Can they be integrated? Marketing Theory, 4(3), 187-208.

Kilbourne, W. E. (1995). Green advertising: Salvation or oxymoron? Journal of Advertising, 24(2), 7.

Manrai, L. A., Manrai, A. K., Lascu, D., & Ryans, J. K. (1997). How green-claim strength and country disposition affect product evaluation and company image. Psychology & Marketing, 14(5), 511-537.

Nakajima, N. (2001). Green advertising and green public relations as integration propaganda. Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, 21(5), 334-348.

Roberts, J. A. (1996). Green consumers in the 1990s: Profile and implications for advertising. Journal of Business Research, 36(3), 217-231. O’Neill Stacks HF5001 .J14

Stafford, M. R., Stafford, T. F., & Chowdhury, J. (1996). Predispositions toward green issues: The potential efficacy of advertising appeals. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 18(1), 67.

Zinkhan, G. M., & Carlson, L. (1995). Green advertising and the reluctant consumer. Journal of Advertising, 24(2), 1.