Ad Affect Sensitivity: Influences on Consumers’ Affect Traces and Their Relationship With Retrospective Ad Evaluations

Researchers have long studied the relationship between consumers’ emotional reactions to advertising stimuli and how these reactions shape consumers’ overall ad attitudes. However, the extent to which consumers’ emotions predict their overall ad attitudes is likely to vary based on consumer characteristics – a concept that we call ad affect sensitivity. The present study examines the extent to which consumers’ prior brand attitude, product category involvement and prior purchase behavior increase the extent of positive emotion consumers experience while watching an ad. This phenomenon is illustrated through examining consumers’ moment-to-moment emotional responses to advertisements. The current study also illustrates how emotion can be used to create stronger ad attitudes among those with negative prior brand attitudes, low category involvement and little to no experience with a particular product. The managerial implications of influencing people who are most likely not very loyal to a brand are discussed.