Scholars have classified guilt as, anticipatory, reactive, and existential guilt. Past studies show that specific types of guilt appeals are more effective in advertising (e.g. Lindsey, 2005). However, researchers have mostly relied on the use of unified guilt to investigate advertising effectiveness. Thus the paper highlights the inherent need to investigate a specific type of guilt, namely anticipatory guilt in a luxury branding context. The paper will fill this gap by measuring consumer’s reactions to anticipatory guilt within two luxury product categories (non-durable and durable). The research is one of the first to explore anticipatory guilt in a luxury advertising context. Considering the importance of the guilt appeals in advertising, the paper provides a comparison of anticipatory guilt under three different conditions. Thus, it provides a greater understanding of an advertising tool for practitioners and scholars.

• Michael Lwin(Curtin University)
• Ian Phau(Curtin University)