Perceptions of Islamic advertising held by Indonesian Muslims

Abstract

In the past decades, research on the link between advertising and religion has been increasing (Cader, 2015). There is an especially growing interest in researching Islam, either in comparison with other religions (A. J. Ali & Gibbs, 1998; Fam, Waller, & Erdogan, 2004; Farah & El Samad, 2014; Gibbs & Ilkan, 2008) or as the focus of the research (Cader, 2015; Haque, Ahmed, & Jahan, 2010). However, previous research on the topic of Islamic advertising has been dominated by conceptual papers and research conducted in Middle Eastern contexts (Bari & Abbas, 2011; Hassan, Chachi, & Latiff, 2008; Rice & Al-Mossawi, 2002; Mohammad Saeed, Ahmed, & Mukhtar, 2001). Therefore, this study has the objective of gaining a greater understanding of the perceptions of Islamic advertising to Indonesian Muslim consumers, including the interactions between religion and culture, congruency with their identity, and effects on attitudes and behaviour. Using the paradigm of critical realism, this research used a qualitative approach by gathering data through in-depth interviews. The findings identified five elements which constitute Islamic advertising in the eyes of Indonesian Muslims. These include compliance with Sharia (Islamic law), existence of universal Islamic values, relevant execution strategies, advertisement of “Islamic” products and brand, and the use of “Islamic” public figures as celebrity endorsers. Moreover, Indonesian Muslims tend to negotiate between their culture and religion which presents a challenge to the standardisation vs localisation debate in advertising. Islamic advertising was also found to be congruent with the Indonesian Muslims’ identity, particularly those with higher religiosity, and induces positive effects on their emotions, attitudes and behaviour. An especially important impact for collectivist cultures such as Indonesia is that Islamic advertising is able to generate positive word-of-mouth.