IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/mktlet/v32y2021i1d10.1007_s11002-020-09544-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sinfully decadent: priming effects of immoral advertising symbols on indulgence

Author

Listed:
  • Jasmina Ilicic

    (Monash University)

  • Stacey M. Brennan

    (The University of Sydney)

  • Alicia Kulczynski

    (The University of Newcastle)

Abstract

This research introduces an immorality-indulgence priming effect, whereby the presence of immorality symbols (i.e., devil, hell, serpent) versus morality symbols (i.e., angel, heaven, saint) in advertising increase consumer indulgence. Study 1 examines the priming effect of morality symbols on indulgent consumption, controlling for religiosity and belief in afterlife. Study 2 and Study 2b investigate the role that activation of mental representations of rebelliousness has in explaining the immorality-indulgence effect. Study 3 explores the role of immorality symbols on actual indulgent choices. Findings from Study 1 indicate that immorality symbols prime consumer indulgence. Study 2 provides evidence of rebelliousness as the process influencing indulgent product choice (indulgent intention, Study 2b), while ruling out the alternative explanation of image-message congruence. Study 3 provides evidence that immorality symbols increase actual indulgent behavior. This research has important implications for advertisers in the development of advertisements that can influence indulgent behaviors.

Suggested Citation

  • Jasmina Ilicic & Stacey M. Brennan & Alicia Kulczynski, 2021. "Sinfully decadent: priming effects of immoral advertising symbols on indulgence," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 61-73, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:32:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s11002-020-09544-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11002-020-09544-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11002-020-09544-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11002-020-09544-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kivetz, Ran & Simonson, Itamar, 2002. "Self-Control for the Righteous: Toward a Theory of Precommitment to Indulgence," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 29(2), pages 199-217, September.
    2. Jungkeun Kim & Jae-Eun Kim & Jongwon Park, 2018. "Effects of physical cleansing on subsequent unhealthy eating," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 165-176, June.
    3. Laura A. Peracchio & Joan Meyers-Levy, 2005. "Using Stylistic Properties of Ad Pictures to Communicate with Consumers," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(1), pages 29-40, June.
    4. Derick F. Davis & Paul M. Herr, 2014. "From Bye to Buy: Homophones as a Phonological Route to Priming," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(6), pages 1063-1077.
    5. van Rompay, Thomas J.L. & de Vries, Peter W. & van Venrooij, Xaviera G., 2010. "More than Words: On the Importance of Picture–Text Congruence in the Online Environment," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 22-30.
    6. Gergana Y. Nenkov & Maura L. Scott, 2014. ""So Cute I Could Eat It Up": Priming Effects of Cute Products on Indulgent Consumption," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(2), pages 326-341.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Matthew D. Meng & Jessica Gamlin, 2024. "Sexually explicit advertisements boost consumer recycling due to moral cleansing goal activation," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 205-218, June.
    2. Chen, Ning & Petersen, Francine E. & Lowrey, Tina M., 2022. "The effect of altruistic gift giving on self-indulgence in affordable luxury," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 84-94.
    3. Elizabeth A. Minton & Paige Gardiner, 2021. "The missing role of moral values in anti‐vaping messaging," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 1040-1061, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gupta, Aditya & Eilert, Meike & Gentry, James W., 2020. "Can I surprise myself? A conceptual framework of surprise self-gifting among consumers," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    2. Yizhao Jiang, 2022. "The Influence of Payment Method: Do Consumers Pay More with Mobile Payment?," Papers 2210.14631, arXiv.org.
    3. Thomas Rompay & Marieke Fransen & Bianca Borgelink, 2014. "Light as a feather: Effects of packaging imagery on sensory product impressions and brand evaluation," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 397-407, December.
    4. Nitin Walia & Mark Srite & Wendy Huddleston, 2016. "Eyeing the web interface: the influence of price, product, and personal involvement," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 297-333, September.
    5. Diandian Xiang & Leinan Zhang & Qiuyan Tao & Yonggui Wang & Shuang Ma, 2019. "Informational or emotional appeals in crowdfunding message strategy: an empirical investigation of backers’ support decisions," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 1046-1063, November.
    6. Luigi Mittone & Lucia Savadori, 2008. "Influence of time delay on choice between gambles: Savoring the emotion," CEEL Working Papers 0802, Cognitive and Experimental Economics Laboratory, Department of Economics, University of Trento, Italia.
    7. Bernard Dubois & Sandor Czellar & Gilles Laurent, 2005. "Consumer Segments Based on Attitudes Toward Luxury: Empirical Evidence from Twenty Countries," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 115-128, April.
    8. Jingyi Lu & Zhengyan Liu & Zhe Fang, 2016. "Hedonic products for you, utilitarian products for me," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 11(4), pages 332-341, July.
    9. Tao Zhang & Chao Feng & Hui Chen & Junjie Xian, 2022. "Calming the customers by AI: Investigating the role of chatbot acting-cute strategies in soothing negative customer emotions," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(4), pages 2277-2292, December.
    10. Gill, Tripat & El Gamal, Monica, 2014. "Does exposure to dogs (cows) increase the preference for Puma (the colour white)? Not always," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 125-126.
    11. Hsuan‐Yi Chou & Xing‐Yu (Marcos) Chu & Tzu‐Chun Chen, 2022. "The healing effect of cute elements," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 565-596, June.
    12. Thürridl, Carina & Kamleitner, Bernadette & Ruzeviciute, Ruta & Süssenbach, Sophie & Dickert, Stephan, 2020. "From happy consumption to possessive bonds: When positive affect increases psychological ownership for brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 89-103.
    13. Shaffer, Victoria A. & Arkes, Hal R., 2009. "Preference reversals in evaluations of cash versus non-cash incentives," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 859-872, December.
    14. Fernando S. Machado & Rajiv K. Sinha, 2007. "Smoking Cessation: A Model of Planned vs. Actual Behavior for Time-Inconsistent Consumers," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(6), pages 834-850, 11-12.
    15. Kulczynski, Alicia & Ilicic, Jasmina & Baxter, Stacey M., 2017. "Pictures are grate! Examining the effectiveness of pictorial-based homophones on consumer judgments," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 286-301.
    16. Chun-Tuan Chang & Xing-Yu (Marcos) Chu, 2020. "The give and take of cause-related marketing: purchasing cause-related products licenses consumer indulgence," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 203-221, March.
    17. Wang, Kai-Yu & Liang, Minli & Peracchio, Laura A., 2011. "Strategies to offset dissatisfactory product performance: The role of post-purchase marketing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(8), pages 809-815, August.
    18. Heydari, Ali & Laroche, Michel & Paulin, Michèle & Richard, Marie-Odile, 2021. "Hofstede's individual-level indulgence dimension: Scale development and validation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    19. Markus Blut & Cheng Wang & Nancy V. Wünderlich & Christian Brock, 2021. "Understanding anthropomorphism in service provision: a meta-analysis of physical robots, chatbots, and other AI," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 632-658, July.
    20. Kim, Kyuha & Lee, Sungmi & Choi, Yung Kyun, 2019. "Image proximity in advertising appeals: Spatial distance and product types," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 490-497.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:32:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s11002-020-09544-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.