Abstract

Ambiguous marketing messages, including puns, wordplay, and polysemous slogans, have been used as tools to capture attention and encourage a more profound level of consumer interaction. Despite their widespread occurrence, the theoretical frameworks explaining how ambiguity affects authenticity perception are still scattered across various research fields. A lack of a cohesive synthesis that elaborates the role of ambiguity across these fields and the circumstances under which it may either improve or hinder the effectiveness of messages.

This systematic literature review aims to bring together empirical research on ambiguous marketing messages, offering a thorough understanding of how consumers interpret and assess messages that are designed to have multiple meanings or allow for various interpretations. In accordance with PRISMA guidelines, 42 empirical studies are compiled and synthesized to examine the different outcomes triggered by ambiguity, as well as to evaluate the circumstances that influence whether ambiguity enhances or diminishes perceptions of authenticity. The interplay of ambiguity with identity, sincerity, and credibility stands out as a key theme, providing novel theoretical frameworks in marketing communication.

Key Findings

The review reveals that ambiguous advertising does not have a singular, uniform effect on authenticity. Instead, ambiguity simultaneously contains the potential to erode or elevate authenticity, with outcomes shaped by contextual demands, audience characteristics, and interpretive expectations. Two distinct mechanisms emerge:

Clarity-Oriented Pathway: Ambiguity undermines authenticity when it reduces perceived clarity, diagnosticity, or transparency. This occurs especially in high-stakes contexts (health, climate, safety), utilitarian product categories, or when factual transparency is expected. Consumers interpret vagueness as evasion or manipulation, resulting in diminished trust and lower authenticity.

Meaning-Oriented Pathway: Ambiguity enhances authenticity when it enables interpretive freedom, depth, and personal resonance. This is particularly effective with symbolic or hedonic products, artistic brand voices, and audiences who enjoy interpretive engagement. Ambiguity becomes a resource rather than a liability when it invites reflection, allows moral nuance, or facilitates identity-based interpretation.

Theoretical Contribution

This review proposes the Dual Pathways to Authenticity Model, which conceptualizes ambiguity as a meaning mechanism with two potential outcomes. The model posits that perceived intention serves as the critical inflection point: when consumers attribute negative intentions to ambiguity (evasion, manipulation), the clarity-oriented pathway dominates; when they attribute positive intentions (thoughtfulness, moral nuance, inclusivity), the meaning-oriented pathway prevails.

Practical Implications

The findings provide clear guidance for marketers: ambiguity enhances authenticity when products are symbolic/hedonic, brand voices are artistic/philosophical, audiences value meaning-making, or communication must resonate across diverse audiences. Conversely, ambiguity damages authenticity when consumers expect factual detail, products are utilitarian, claims involve ethical stakes, or ambiguity appears designed to obscure or manipulate.

This systematic literature review resolves the longstanding ambiguity-authenticity paradox by demonstrating that ambiguous advertising can both enhance and undermine authenticity depending on context, perceived intention, and consumer characteristics. The Dual Pathways to Authenticity Model provides the first integrated theoretical explanation for these divergent outcomes, offering a coherent framework that unites previously fragmented findings across marketing, linguistics, psychology, and communication.

Keywords: Ambiguity, wordplay, brand slogans, brand communication, authenticity perception, Dual Pathways Model, interpretive engagement, strategic ambiguity