All that glitters is not gold: do materialistic cues in advertising yield resistance?

Purpose This study aims to investigate emerging adults’ emotional responses to a commercial with materialistic cues, and the commercial’s perceived and actual effect on materialism – taking the role of pre-existing attitudes toward advertising into account. Design/methodology/approach The paper used a mixed-method design to gauge emotions evoked by materialistic cues both qualitatively and quantitatively. Emotions were assessed using both open-ended and close-ended questions. Perceived effectiveness was also measured using close-ended questions. To establish the commercial’s actual effect, an online experiment was conducted. In total, 179 individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 years participated. Findings Emerging adults’ pre-existing attitudes toward advertising predicted their emotional responses toward a commercial with materialistic cues (i.e. influencing whether they are negative, neutral or positive) as well as the perceived effectiveness of materialistic cues in advertising. A one-time exposure to a commercial with materialistic cues does not increase materialism. Practical implications Emerging adults who dislike advertising, tend to also dislike advertising with materialistic cues and perceive it as less effective. However, young consumers with an interest in advertising do appreciate the use of materialistic cues and perceive them as being effective. Although no actual effect was found, this could be a reason for advertisers to use materialistic cues. Originality/value This paper is the first to investigate consumers’ emotions toward materialistic cues, and to study their perceived and actual effect. Moreover, it is the first to examine the link between advertising exposure and materialism among emerging adults.