Negotiating Algorithmic Branding: Consumer Interpretations of AI-Generated Advertising in a Heinz Campaign

This study examines how consumers interpret AI-generated advertising through Heinz’s “A.I. Ketchup” campaign. Drawing on reflexive thematic analysis of 36 stimulus-based interviews, the findings conceptualize consumer responses as a process of legitimacy negotiation in which creative agency, procedural transparency, brand continuity, and ethical responsibility are evaluated together rather than as separate concerns. AI familiarity and perceived AI literacy shaped the interpretive resources participants used in making these judgements, but frequent AI use did not necessarily imply critical understanding. The study contributes to global marketing by showing how generative AI can reinforce brand salience while making algorithmic brand power, creative authorship, and responsible brand communication ethically contested.