Exploring existential guilt appeals in the context of charitable advertisements

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between existential guilt, inferences of manipulative intent,attitude towards the brand, and donation behaviour intentions. A scale was also developed tomeasure existential guilt. Although it is exploratory in nature, it fills the gap in the literature thatguilt is not a unified construct and should be measured separately. This research found thatconsumers perceived World Vision?s ad to be non-manipulative and suggested that consumershad a very strong attitude towards the brand. The results implied that advertisers could employmore intensive existential guilt ads for credible brands and potential contributions are alsodiscussed.