Authenticity and exclusivity appeals in luxury advertising: the role of promotion and prevention pride

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate how the effectiveness of luxury advertising can be improved by matching the emotional (promotion pride vs prevention pride) and luxury value (authenticity vs exclusivity) appeals within advertising messages.

Design/methodology/approach

Three experiments were conducted. Studies 1A and 1B establish the influence of incidental emotions and regulatory focus on consumer preferences for divergent luxury value appeals (exclusivity vs authenticity) within advertisements. Study 2 shows the match-up effects of congruent emotional and luxury value appeals on advertising effectiveness.

Findings

The authors offer causal evidence that promotion pride increases the preference for exclusivity appeals, whereas prevention pride increases the preference for authenticity appeals in luxury advertising.

Research limitations/implications

The study offers a novel perspective into the ways consumers evaluate different value appeals in luxury advertising and establishes the important role played by emotions within such evaluations.

Practical implications

Marketers of luxury products can increase the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns by considering the fit between emotional and luxury value appeals. Specifically, the authors show that the congruent matching of promotion pride with exclusivity appeals and of prevention pride with authenticity appeals within advertising messages can elicit more favorable consumer responses.

Originality/value

The study is the first to illustrate novel “match-up” effects: it shows when and how different luxury value appeals (exclusivity vs authenticity) and emotions (promotion pride vs prevention pride) influence the effectiveness of luxury advertising.

Citation

Septianto, F., Seo, Y., Sung, B. and Zhao, F. (2020), "Authenticity and exclusivity appeals in luxury advertising: the role of promotion and prevention pride", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54 No. 6, pp. 1305-1323. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-10-2018-0690