Brands hoping to reach young consumers are being urged to rethink how they design adverts after new research found that music and empathy resonate far more strongly with Generation Z than humour, romance, or traditional personal identity messaging. The findings, published in the International Journal of Environmental Sciences, suggest that companies focusing on emotional advertising may need to shift towards more meaningful and socially aware content to keep the attention of younger audiences.
The study, which examined how eleven different emotional appeals shape engagement among people born from the mid 1990s to the early 2010s, shows that musical elements are by far the most effective tool for capturing interest. According to the results, music consistently produced the highest engagement scores across a large sample of Gen Z participants, highlighting the central role sound plays in a generation raised on TikTok clips, streaming culture, and short form digital content.
Empathy also featured prominently, with young adults responding strongly to adverts that reflect shared human experience or demonstrate compassion. These findings underline a growing expectation for brands to take social issues seriously and to demonstrate authenticity when communicating with younger consumers. The study notes that messages built around empathy not only attract attention but can help foster trust and longer term loyalty.
Youth themed content, which focuses on energy, vitality, and contemporary style, also rated highly. This aligns with the real world behaviour of Gen Z, who tend to reward brands that appear relevant, culturally aware, and adaptable.
In contrast, humour ranked surprisingly low in overall effectiveness. Although often used to target younger audiences, humour generated highly variable reactions and did not consistently influence engagement. Romantic themes also performed poorly, with significant differences in how individuals responded, suggesting that conventional romantic narratives may no longer appeal to a generation with broader and more varied views on relationships. Personal identity based appeals, often used to speak directly to the individual, were the least effective of all.
The research also highlights notable gender differences. Male participants responded more strongly to humour, fear, music, popularity, and endorsement content, while romantic themes had greater impact on female participants. Empathy, personal identity, youth centric messaging, and social themes produced similar reactions across both genders.
Age and education further shaped responses within the Gen Z group. Older participants showed stronger engagement with endorsement, musical, romantic, youth, and empathy themes. Higher education levels were linked to stronger responses to endorsement, musical, empathy, youth, popularity, and adventure messaging.
Researchers say the findings challenge common assumptions about what works for younger audiences. While humour and trend driven content are often seen as essential for Gen Z marketing, the data suggests that deeper emotional content and culturally embedded music may be far more effective.
For advertisers, the implications are clear. Campaigns leaning into music, authentic storytelling, and socially conscious themes are more likely to resonate, while traditional appeals built around personal identity or surface level humour risk being overlooked. With Gen Z now forming one of the most influential consumer groups, understanding these emotional triggers will be essential for brands hoping to build lasting connections.