Generation Z in Jakarta's Attitude Towards COVID-19 Ad Distribution on YouTube

Abstract

Purpose: Thisstudy aims to measure the attitudes of Generation Z in Jakarta towards advertisements containingCOVID-19 information. Research design, data and methodology: This study is a quantitative method with partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with SMART PLS as an analytical tool. The sample size is 216 participants was obtained randomly through a questionnaire distributed online. This study consisted of exogenous variables (advertising content, value, irritation, and economic benefits), endogenous variables (attitudes towards advertising), and some moderating roles. Results: The results of thi study explain that this generation's attitude towards advertising is affected by the content and value aspects embedded in advertisements. Value can be formed from creativity in making advertising content as interesting and informative as possible. Interestingly, this study also found that the irritation aspect and economic benefits had no effect on the audience's attitude towards the advertisement. Neither the irritating aspect of advertising nor the economic value that is formed acts as a moderator of the content and the value of the ad. Conclusions: The ongoing pandemic and periodic adjustments to government policies regarding COVID-19, these results can be compared with other advertisements for future studies, especially those using the same variables as this study.

1.Introduction

The development of mobile technology has formed new marketing channels (Liu, Sinkovics, Pezderka, & Haghirian, 2012); one is the use of YouTube as a technology platform for sharing videos that can be accessed anytime and anywhere. In addition, technology allows the function of sound effects, multimedia, or video tobe more varied and interesting to form creative choices (Chen & Hsieh, 2012). This development also shapes the optimization of YouTube’s function as a media platform for advertising due to the wide audience reach and because it can be accessed anytime and anywhere.

This is no exception during the COVID-19 pandemic, where social restrictions support the community to be closer and access YouTube. Advertisers also saw lockdowns as a good opportunity to convey information about their products or services. This is in linewith data from Nielsen Media Indonesia regarding total advertising spending figures in Indonesia in January–July 2021, which totaled 122 trillion rupiahs. Advertising spending on websites reached 24.2 trillion rupiahs, which is higher than radio and printmedia. This indirectly explains that public interest is quite high in using online media for various purposes, such as enjoying shows, seeking information, and seeking entertainment.

Even though YouTube has a wide audience reach, the creative role of the content of the advertisements delivered can also be a factor in the success of receiving an advertisement. Advertisements must not only be informative, but they must also be fun and catch the attention of the audience. They aim to convey the brand message and build a personal/emotional relationship (Cauberghe & Pelsmacker, 2010)while reaching the target audience (Dhar & Varshney, 2011). In the long term, the positive attitude of the audience from the content or advertising message of an attractive brand affects the intention to purchase products and services from that brand (Hashim, Normalini, & Sajali, 2018).

Previous research that looked at this trend, such as Ünal, Ercis, and Keser (2011), focused on the aspects that can influence an audience’s attitude about an advertisement’s acceptability. The authors found that thepresence of an element of entertainment was one of the decisive elements. The use of games (Aslam, Batool, & Hag, 2016)can attract the attention of the audience to listen and be involved in the direction of the advertising material, demonstrating the entertainment factor in an advertisement. Furthermore, the clarity and utility of the information included in an advertisement are crucial considerations. Madahi and Sukati (2016)underline that advertisements broadcast regularly should provide helpful information that can serve as a reminder to the audience. Advertisements that lack attractive and utilitarian content are disliked by the audience and are deemed an annoying nuisance or aggravation (Ünal et al., 2011; Aslam et al., 2016).

Generation Z groups born after 1995 (Bassiouni & Hackley, 2014)use digital media for various purposes, such as forming networks and self-identity, sharing opinions, and seeking entertainment (Nuzulita & Subriadi, 2020). In addition, this generation uses the internet as the main source for obtaining information (Dabija, Bejan, & Tipi, 2018), so it is not surprising that this generation uses the internet as part of their lifestyle (Fietkiewicz, Lins, Baran, & Stock, 2016). With these characteristics, it is interesting to explore the attitude of this generation towards advertising on YouTube.

Based on the background described above, the formulation of the problem of this research is whether the informativeness, entertainment, and credibility aspects of the content of advertisements have an impact on the value of advertisements and attitudes towards advertisements. An additional question is whether the value of advertising has an impact on attitudes to advertising. This study also raises the research problem of whether perceived irritation influences attitudes towards advertisements and whether perceived irritation acts as a moderator in the relationship between advertisement content and attitudes in the advertisement itself. This study also examines whether the economic value factor has a role as a direct influence on attitudes towards advertising and a moderating effect on the relationship between advertising value and attitudes towards advertising. Thus, the purpose of this study is to analyze the results of these problem formulations. The originality or novelty aspect in this study lies in the use of the irritation factor, which is positioned as the audience’s perception (perceived irritation). Previous studies have only used irritation as a factor in the content of advertising content. The use of the economic aspect of audience perception is also used as an aspect of novelty in the audience’s attitude towards an advertisement. In addition, measurements of advertisements related to COVID-19 can add an element of novelty to this research. Thus, this study uses aspects of advertising (content and value of advertisements) and audience attitudes (attitudes towards advertisements, perceived irritation in advertisements, economic value).

2. Literature Review and Hypothesis Development

The success of advertising to be accepted by the audience can be shaped by various factors. Ünal et al. (2011) stated that audience attitudes could be formed through the elements of advertising that are owned, namely entertainment, informativeness, and credibility. However, the audience is basically quite open to the information contained in an advertisement. Audiences have a positive response or can accept the existence of advertisements (Gao & Zang, 2014). The initial decisive moment of the success of an ad is in the early seconds of serving the ad. Those moments determine the audience’s attitude towards the ad. The attitude in question is whether the audience will continue to see ad impressions or will avoid ads by stopping ads, changing channels, or carrying out other activities. Generation Z audiences are no exception; they tend to be picky about what they like about a question.

Advertising is simply the delivery of information that is the core message of a product or service. Therefore, advertisements should have sufficient information to be conveyed and understood by the target audience. In addition to the information aspect, to make the audience more receptive to an advertisement, the element of the attractiveness of the advertisement must be considered. In other words, one element of the attractiveness of the ad can be seen from how entertaining the ad is.

Raditya, Gunadi, Sertiono, and Rawung (2020)define ad content as brand information that consists of two character outputs: entertainingor boring, which can affect the audience’s decision to continue to enjoy or skip the ad. Pappu and Cornwell (2014)emphasized that the content of an advertisement affects the audience’s reaction, suchas the relevancy of a media’s identity character and the way wherein the advertisement is distributed. Aslam et al. (2016) revealed that advertisements with entertainment elements could use characteristics such as jokes, puzzles, or competitions. This can at least shape the audience’s perception of the ads they see. However, there are times when the audience perceives those advertisements do not have these elements, and they do not form a credibility value in advertisements (Hashim et al., 2018).

Based on these explanations, this study proposes hypotheses (H) as follows:

H1: The content of the ad affects the attitude towards the ad

H2: The content of the ad affects the ad value

The value of an advertisement reflects the benefits that the audience could receive by watching it. This is in keeping with Murillo’s (2017) re-evaluation of Ducoffe’s advertising value model in 1996, which defines advertising value as the utility of advertising for the audience after passing the evaluation step of seeing the advertisement. In terms of effect, the value of advertising can serve as an inspiration to the audience (Abbasi, Rehman, Hussain, Ting, & Islam, 2021), shaping their behavior. Disastra, Hanifa, Wulandari, and Sastika (2018)emphasized the same thing, explaining that ads received and enjoyed, particularly on mobile, had an impact on the audience’s attitude toward the advertisement. As explained above, where advertising should be able to form a positive perception of value for the audience, this will affect the audience’s attitude towards existing advertisements. Audiences tend to change a channel if it does not provide benefits, and this attitude will repeatedly occur, especially those with advertisement displays (Madahi & Sukati, 2016). The hypothesis formed based on this explanation is:

H3:Ad value affects the attitude towards the ad

In this situation, perceived irritation in an advertisement shows the audience’s dislike for such an advertisement due to content repetition, placement of annoying ad elements/parts, and the appearance of annoying pop-up ads (Alwreikat & Rjoub, 2020; Brechman, Bellman, Robinson, Rask, & Varan, 2016; Royo-Vela & Meyer, 2017). An advertisement will have an irritating effect if it is too distracting to the audience (Aslam et al., 2016). This also applies to YouTube users from Generation Z, who tend to be picky about an impression. Advertisements that make the audience feel disturbed can cause an irritating effect for the audience, and this can form a negative attitude in responding to an advertisement (Ünal et al., 2011). Based on these explanations, this study proposes further hypotheses (H):

H4: Perceived irritation affects the attitude towards the ad

H5: Perceived irritation moderates the effect of the ad content on the attitude towards the ad

YouTube realizes the platform has become a favorite and has many users. Therefore, YouTube makes this platform a medium for advertising with the advantage of a wide reach to many users. This then forms an economic benefit for the owner of the YouTube channel where an ad appears. The economic value in this study focuses on two aspects: the audiences do not want to waste their (limited) data plans on advertisements (economic sacrifice), and they assume they will not receive economic benefits from watching advertisements (Arora & Agarwal, 2019; Kim & Han, 2014), such as vouchers, discounts, or free membership (Varnali et al., 2012). The second aspect is that the audience perceives the video has been monetized (Hermes, Clemons, Wittenzellner, Hein, Böhm, & Krcmar, 2020); therefore, they would not want to provide the ad owner or account with any monetary benefits. Several studies use the term “economic value with monetary benefits” (Aslam et al., 2016). Thus, it can be explained that YouTube creates economic value benefits for account owners that can affect the attitude of YouTube users to see the ads that appear. Therefore, this study proposes further hypotheses (H), as follows:

H6: Economic value affects the attitude towards the ad

H7:Economic value moderates the effect of the ad content on the attitude towards the ad

H8: Economy value moderates the ad value on the attitude towards the ad

Based on the literature review and building the hypothesis above, this study makes a conceptual framework for the research, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Research Conceptual Framework

3. Research Methods and Materials

3.1. Ad Content Measurement

Advertising is defined as the delivery of messages in the form of images or videos through the YouTube platform to the public that aims to form awareness or desire for a certain invitation. This variable is divided into two dimensions: the content of the ad and the value of the ad. Ad content is measured using three parts. The first is clarity on the connection between the use of YouTube and the advertisements delivered, which is known as Informativeness (INFORM). The second is the entertainment aspect that can be presented by advertisements on YouTube, which is called Entertainment (ENTMN). The third is the support for the credibility of YouTube and the ad owner in conveying advertising messages, which in this study is called Credibility (CRDBL).

Disastra et al. (2018) explained that informativeness in advertisements is the audience’s response to the clarity of information obtained from advertisements. Specifically, informativeness adapts measurements from Zabadi, Shura and Elsayed (2012) consisting of six indicators: YouTube is the right medium to deliver advertisements related to COVID-19 (INFORM1), YouTube allows the general public to clearly know the latest information about COVID-19 through advertisements (INFORM2), informative advertisements (INFORM3), the accuracy of YouTube’s selection to deliver advertisements (INFORM4), the broad affordability of YouTube in conveying service advertisement information (INFORM5), and the advertisement can provide the information needed by the general public even though there have been many advertisements regarding other COVID-19 (INFORM6). Entertainment in an advertisement describes the form of a positive response from the audience that receives an element of entertainment when they see an advertisement (Disastra et al., 2018). The entertainment section adapts measurements from Ünal et al. (2011) consisting of three indicators: the pleasure of seeing advertisements about COVID-19 on YouTube (ENTMN1), YouTube is entertaining (ENTMN2), it is fun to find advertisements about COVID-19 on YouTube (ENTMN3).

The concept of credibility in advertising mostly focuses on the audience’s trust in the information contained in the advertisement (Hashim et al., 2018), not on the medium of introducing an advertisement. Therefore, credibility in this study focuses on credibility on YouTube as a global advertising medium carrying information about COVID-19. This study adapts measurements (Ünal et al., 2011; Zabadi et al., 2012) consisting of three indicators: advertisements related to the outbreak, such as COVID-19, in the future (CRDBL1); advertisements distributed on YouTube can be trusted (CRDBL2); making YouTube one of the media for delivering advertisements that can be trusted (CRDBL3). On the advertising value dimension (OVAVL), this study adapts research measurements from Liu et al. (2012) and Murillo (2017) consisting of three indicators: YouTube makes advertisements related to COVID-19 more useful (OVAVL1), YouTube makes advertisements about COVID- 19 more valuable (OVAVL2), and YouTube makes advertisements important to watch (OVAVL3).

3.2. Measurement of The Attitudes

The response or form of emotional changes in the audience after watching an advertisement is referred to as attitude toward advertising, and it is influenced by a variety of factors (Disastra et al., 2018; Lee, Park, Kim, & Lee, 2012). In this study, attitude is explained as a form of audience response to advertisement broadcast on YouTube, which consists of attitude towards the ad (ATAD), views on advertisements that are disturbing or annoying (IRRTN), and responses to economic benefits (ECOVL). In the attitude towards the ad section, this study adapts measurements from Aslam et al. (2016) and Liu et al. (2012) consisting of three indicators: liking YouTube to broadcast advertisements related to COVID-19 (ATAD1), YouTube adjusts advertisements according to the character of the audience (ATAD2), and YouTube gives freedom to the audience to see or not see the advertisements that are displayed (ATAD3). In the irritation section, this study adapts research mfeasurements from Aslam et al. (2016) and Ünal etal. (2011) that consist of two indicators: feeling disturbed by the advertisements shown on YouTube (IRRTN₁) and advertisements broadcast on YouTube that are already in the annoying stage (IRRTN₂). When examining the attitude towards advertising, this study adapts measurements from Aslam et al. (2016) and Karjaluoto, Standing, Becker, and Leppäniem(2008) that consists of three indicators: avoiding ads on YouTube because they feel the account owner will receive income from viewed advertisements (ECOVL1), avoiding advertisements on YouTube because they are not willing to use or waste data packets simply to view advertisements (ECOVL2), and avoiding advertisements on YouTube because they do not get economic benefits (ECOVL3).

3.3. Sample and Data Collection

This research is quantitative research with a survey using an online questionnaire with a Google form to collect data. The survey itself was conducted in October 2021. The questionnaire consisted of 23 items measured on a Likert scale with a range of “1-strongly disagree” to “5-strongly agree.” Of the 221 questionnaires received, 216 questionnaires (97.74%) were suitable for use, and this number became the sample size in this study. This sample size is also determined based on the number of items multiplied by 5 (for the minimum size) to 10 (for the maximum size) (Bollen, 1989; Memon, Ting, Cheah, Thurasamy, Chuah, & Cham, 2020), and the sample size determined in the study is sufficient and in accordance with the provisions used. The sample of this study is YouTube users aged 20–26 years, which is the age range defined as Generation Z described previously. In the questionnaire section, the participants were given a link to the advertisement

(https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=CE2WD87-ul0) used in this study. This ad link is taken from Halodoc’s official YouTube account. The participants were asked to click on the link and review the content of the ad entitled “Perjalanan Aman Dengan Hasil Digital Tes COVID-19 di Halodoc” (Safe Travel With COVID-19 Test Digital Results on Halodoc) with a duration of 1 minute 44 seconds. This viewing aims to remind the participants of the advertisement that first aired in June 2020. Some parts of the ad content are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2:Snippets of ad sequences

3.4. Analysis Techniques

The study used structural modeling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM) with SMART PLS as an analytical tool. In testing reliability, this study used the results on Cronbach’s alpha (CA) (CA > 0.7) and composite reliability (CR) (CR > 0.7) (Memon & Rahman, 2014). For validity testing, this study uses the results on outer loading (OL) (OL > 0.7) and average variance extracted (AVE) (AVE > 0.5) (Barati, Taheri-Kharameh, Farghadani, & Rásky, 2019). This study defined significance as a p-value < 0.05 (Ali, Hilman, & Gorondutse, 2020).

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Results

The profile distribution in Table 1 shows that more than half of the participants in this study were women. Based on age, this study was dominated by participants aged 21–22 years, followed by participants aged 23–24 years and 25–26 years. The largest group of participants in this study came from North Jakarta, followed by Central Jakarta, West Jakarta, East Jakarta, and South Jakarta. During the COVID- 19 pandemic, the largest subset of participants in this study had a habit of using YouTube at most for 1–2 hours per day, followed those by using YouTube for 3–4 hours, less than 1 hour, 5–6 hours, and more than 6hours.

Table 1: Distribution of Participant Profiles

4.2. PLS-SEM Measurement

The reliability test described previously used the results of CR > 0.7 and CA 0.7. This study used OL > 0.7 and AVE > 0.5 to test validity. In the initial test, there were several items (INFORM1, INFORM2, INFORM3, INFORM5, CRDBL2, ECOVL1, ECOVL2) that were not reliable and valid, so they were eliminated, and the data were reanalyzed. Table 2 shows the reliability results on the Online video and content variables, where the CA and CR results are both above 0.7, so they can be declared reliable. The validity results show the results of the items INFORM4, INFORM6, ENTMN₁, ENTMN₂, ENTMN₃, CRDBL1, and CRDBL3 to be greater than 0.7, and the AVE result is greater than 0.5, so they can be declared valid.

The ad value variable’s CA and CR results show results above 0.7, so it is declared reliable. Furthermore, the results of the validity test show that the OL items (OVAVL1, OVAVL2, OVAVL3) are above 0.7, and the AVE results are above 0.5, so these results are declared reliable and valid. In the Perceived irritation variable, the initial test resulted in one item (IRRTN₃) that did not meet the requirements, so it was eliminated. However, the CA and CR results for the remaining items in this variable are greater than 0.7, so they can be declared reliable. The OL items IRRTN₁ and IRRTN₂ show CA and CR results greater than 0.7, and AVE results greater than 0.5, so they can be declared valid.

In the Economy value variable, the initial test resulted in two items (ECOVL1, ECOVL2) that did not meet the requirements and had to be deleted. For the remaining items, the CR and CA results are above 0.7, so they can be declared reliable. In the OL results, ECOVL1 shows results greater than 0.7 and AVE is greater than 0.5, so it is declared valid. In the Attitude towards ad variable, the CA and CR results are greater than 0.7, so it can be declared reliable. The OL items ATAD1, ATAD2, and ATAD3 show CA and CR results greater than 0.7 andAVE greater than 0.5, so they can be declared valid.

Table 2. PLS-SEM Algorithm

Note: OL=Outer loading; STD=Standard deviation; CA=Cronbach’s alpha; CR=Composite reliability; AVE=Average variance extracted Source: SMART PLS 3.0; n=216

The results of the hypothesis test shown in Table 3 consist of two parts: the direct effect and the moderating effect. Hypothesis testing in this study uses p-value results: hypotheses are accepted when the p-value < 0.05. Indirect effect, the path the content of the ad àAttitude toward the ad shows p=0.000. These results explain that the content of the ad affects the attitude towards the ad. Hypothesis 1 is accepted. For the content of the ad àThe ad value, p=0.000, which explains that the content of the ad affects the ad value. Hypothesis 2 is accepted. On the path of the ad value à Attitude toward the ad, p = 0.000, which explains that the ad value affects the attitude towards the ad. Hypothesis 3 is accepted. In Perceived irritation àAttitude toward the ad, p=0.629, which explains that Perceived irritation does not affect Attitude toward the ad. Hypothesis 4 is rejected. In the path of Economy value àAttitude toward the ad, p= 0.783, which explains that Economy value does not affect Attitude toward the ad. Hypothesis 5 is rejected.

In the moderating effect, where Perceived irritation is moderating between the content of the ad and Attitude towards the ad, p= 0.347, explaining that perceived irritation does not moderate the relationship between the content of the ad and Attitude towards the ad. Hypothesis 6 is rejected. The second moderating effect with Economy value as a moderator between the content of the ad towards Attitude toward the ad shows p=0.828, explaining that Economy value does not moderate the content of the ad towards Attitude toward the ad. Hypothesis 7 is rejected. The next moderating effect, where Economy value is a moderator between the ad value and Attitude toward the ad, shows p=0.780. These results explain that the Economy value does not moderate the ad value towards Attitude toward the ad. Hypothesis 8 is rejected.

Table 3:Hypothesis Test

4.3. Discussion

4.3.1. COVID-19 Advertisement

The results explain that the content in a COVID-19 advertisement affects the attitude towards the ad. These results support the research from Aslam et al. (2016) that separates the informative aspect of an advertisement (Bartsch & Viehoff, 2010) from the entertainment aspect and the credibility aspect, where aspects of the content of an advertisement can shape the audience’s attitude towards the ad. These results explain that video advertisements containing COVID-19 broadcast on YouTube must have clear information aspects, provide pleasure in viewing advertisements through the entertainment aspects presented, and the advertising provider brand must be credible. These aspects can determine the attitude of Generation Z toward accepting YouTube as a medium for providing advertisements about COVID-19. This also explains that the belief about Generation Z as being skeptical of YouTube advertising is refuted. Among the various advertisements that have appeared on YouTube from various brands, Generation Z considers that advertisements about COVID- 19 are appropriate for distribution on YouTube and are important to watch. However, those advertisements require clear information on the content and the attractiveness of advertisements from entertainment elements that can include sound, video, animation, and color effects. In the end, this will shape the attitude of Generation Z where, in addition to receiving the latest information about COVID- 19, this generation also receives entertainment from the advertisements they watch.

The next results in this study explain that advertising content affects the value of advertisements about COVID- 19 on YouTube for Generation Z. These results are in line with the results of research conducted by Liu et al. (2012), which found aspects of informativeness, entertainment, and the credibility of an advertisement form the value of the advertisement for students in Japan. In this case, YouTube has a role in making advertisements about COVID-19 more useful for Generation Z to watch.In addition, this platform makes this type of advertisement more valuable than most advertisements distributed on YouTube. In fact, YouTube makes advertisements, especially those related to COVID- 19 information, important to watch even for YouTube users who come from Generation Z. The Halodoc brand in this study, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, distributed service advertisements about COVID-19 on YouTube. In fact, the prevailing view so far is that Generation Z tends to avoid advertising, especially advertisements related to health. However, advertisements with the label co-marketing between digital based health service providers and the Indonesian government make this advertisement more valuable and worth watching. The enthusiasm of YouTube users who see this ad benefits both the viewers and the creators. Information on travel requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic can be well absorbed en masse. At the same time, Halodoc has succeeded in branding through the dissemination of the COVID-19 digital test results feature on the Halodoc application.

This study explains that the value of advertisements regarding COVID-19 affects the attitude of Generation Z YouTube users towards the advertisements. These results are consistent with Liu et al. (2012), who found that students in Japan and Austria think that the value of an advertisement will shape attitudes towards the advertisement. Attractive advertising content and distribution in the right media generate value for the ad and also shape the attitude of Generation Z YouTube users to want to watch the advertisements that are displayed. As previously explained, advertisements tend to be boring and uninteresting, so YouTube users will easily avoid them, especially users from Generation Z.

4.3.2. Attitudes Towards the Ad

The next result in this study explains that perceived irritation does not affect attitude towards the ads. These results support the results of research conducted by Aslam et al. (2016) and Hashim et al. (2018). The direct effect was also corroborated by the results on a moderating effect where perceived irritation did not moderate the relationship between advertising content and attitude towards the ad. The general view states that irritatingadvertisements can lead to actions to avoid watching the advertisements (Wang & Sun, 2010), and this view is refuted by the results of this study. This may not happen if the advertisement relies on the element of attraction with sufficient information to provoke the audience to click and look for more information. Advertisements about COVID-19 distributed by Halodoc and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia can be attractive and not create irritation. This has succeeded in keeping the audience from Generation Z used in this research watching this ad. One of the key results of the research points to the importance of creating attractive advertisements by using creativity. It is also useful for reaching new or younger YouTube users.

This study explains that the economic value aspect does not affect the attitude towards the ad. This result is also corroborated by the results on the moderating effect of this study, where the economic value does not act as a moderator of the relationship between advertising content and attitude towards the ad. Likewise, the position of economic value in the relationship between advertising value and attitude towards the ad does not indicate a moderating role. The results of this study are not in line with the results of research by Aslam et al. (2016), which states the opposite: the interest in economic benefits will affect the audience’s attitude towards an advertisement. These different results may occur depending on the character of the ad being distributed. For example, in SMS advertisements, the economic value aspect can affect the attitude of SMS users to viewing the advertisement (Aslam et al., 2016). However, advertisements distributed on YouTube where the advertisement is a collaboration between the private sector and the government eliminate the perception of the economic benefits obtained by the owner of the YouTube account advertisement. YouTube users who come from Generation Z in this study can distinguish aspects of the economic benefits of an advertisement based on the type of media used to advertise and the characteristics of the economic benefits that can be formed.

5. Conclusions

This study explains that ad content in advertisements on YouTube can shape the attitudes of users who come from generation Z. Although this generation has used YouTube for most of their lives, the ads nevertheless require the information and entertainment elements to be enjoyed. The content of the ad can even influence the attitude of YouTube users from generation Z in creating their own perception of value for the ad. The advertisers’ fear of Generation Z’s attitude about avoiding advertising was not proven in this study. In the context of advertisements, especially those related to COVID-19, Generation Z still sees new information worth watching. This group’s dependence on accessing information through YouTube also has an impact on receiving information on advertisements related to YouTube. In addition, the creativity in the advertisements presented can shape the desire of this group to enjoy the advertisement or, in other words, they do not view the advertisement as irritating.

The implications based on these results can be explained in that this group tends to be indifferent about the monetary effect of advertising on YouTube. This indifference extends to whether there is economic value in existing advertisements, including advertisements related to COVID-19 information. In the advertisements related to COVID-19 information, advertisers should pay attention to the informative and attractive content, especially those targeting YouTube users from younger groups. This group still finds important things that can be enjoyed from an advertisement on YouTube.

A limitation of the study is that the rapid change in government policy in a pandemic situation also spawned other advertisements with new and adapted information. In addition, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19 led to an adjustment in response policies. Therefore, the advertisements about COVID-19 were short-lived, which can divert the participants’ assessment of the advertisement in this study. Due to these adjustments, the duration of the distribution of the questionnaires was relatively short in this study.