The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of young adults’ attitude towards advertisement appeals on consumer buying behaviour among young adults. Advertisement has been a very common communication tool used in marketing products to consumers. However, the attitude of young adults towards the use of these ad appeals particularly fear, sex, and guilt) and its influence on their buying behaviour is yet to be investigated in Malaysia. The empirical study was conducted at Subang Parade, Selangor and a total of two hundred respondents were selected through multistage random sampling. The results showed that young adults have likeable attitude towards both fear and guilt appeals and it showed both significant relationship towards consumer buying behaviour; whereas dislikeable attitude is shown towards sex appeal and it show non-significant relationship towards consumer buying behaviour. Multiple regressions analysis is used to examine the influence of each appeal and the most influential appeal towards consumer buying behaviour. The results found out that the most influential attitude towards consumer buying behaviour is attitude towards fear appeal. Understanding the attitude of young adults towards advertisement appeals might support the recognition of its influences and provide information towards the improvement of the use of advertisement appeals in future.
Ahmed, A., Mir, F. A., & Farooq, O. (2012). Effect of celebrity endorsement on customers’ buying behavior: A perspective from Pakistan. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Busines, 4(5), 584-592.
Ajit, S., & Raj, V. J. P. (2012). Role of gender in consumers' response to fear appeal advertisements. Indian Journal of Marketing, 42(9), 19-24.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1977). Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. Psychological Bulletin, 84(5), 888.
Ansu-Mensah, P. & Asuamah, S. Y. (2013). Consumers’ attitude towards advertisement elements: A survey of marketing students in Sunyani Polytechnic, Ghana, West Africa. International Journal of Innovative Research in Management, 2(4), 13-24.
Antonetti, P., & Maklan, S. (2014). Feelings that make a difference: How guilt and pride convince consumers of the effectiveness of sustainable consumption choices. Journal of Business Ethics, 124(1), 117-134.
Arya, D. P. (2010). Advertisement effectiveness: role of'word-of-mouth'in success of educational institutes in non-metro cities. IUP Journal of Management Research, 9(1), 7.
Chang, C. (2011). Guilt appeals in cause-related marketing: the subversive roles of product type and donation magnitude. International Journal of Advertising, 30(4), 587–617.
Chiang, K. P., Chan, A., & Milan, R. (2016). Social marketing and advertising appeals: On perception and intention to purchase condoms among college students. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 1-8.
Chithra, T. V., & Kothai, S. (2014). Consumers Attitude on Television Advertisement. International Journal of Commerce, Business and Management, 3(6), 819-823.
Dittmar, H., Long, K., & Meek, R. (2004). Buying on the Internet: Gender differences in on-line and conventional buying motivations. Sex Roles, 50(5-6), 423-444.
Eagly, A. H. & Chaiken, S. (1993). The Pyschology of Attitudes. US: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.
Eze, U. C. & Lee, C. H. (2012). Consumers’ attitude towards advertising. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(13), 94.
Gayatri, S. A. (2008). Advertising appeals in magazine: A framing study. Master's Theses, Paper 3536.
Grazer, W. F. & Kessling, G. (2011). The effect of print advertising’s use of sexual themes on brand recall and purchase intention: A product specific investigation of male responses. Journal of Applied Business Research , 11(3), 47-57.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2006). SEM: confirmatory factor analysis. Multivariate Data Analysis, 6, 770-842.
Hill, R. P. & Moran, N. (2011). Social marketing meets interactive media. International Journal of Advertising, 30(5), 815–838.
Hogg, M. & Vaughan, G. (2005). Social Psychology (4th edition). London: Prentice-Hall.
Hussainy, S. K., Riaz, K., Kazi, A. K., & Herani, G. M. (2008). Advertising styles impact on attention in Pakistan. KASBIT Business Journal, 1(1), 28-38.
Ketzenberger, K. E. & Forrest, L. (2000). Impulsiveness and compulsiveness in alcoholics and nonalcoholics. Addictive Behaviors, 25(5), 791-795.
Khaniwale, M. (2015). Consumer buying behavior. International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, 14(2), 278-286.
Liu, F., Cheng, H., & Li, J. (2009). Consumer responses to sex appeal advertising: A cross-cultural study. International Marketing Review, 26(4/5), 501-520.
Lull, R. B., & Bushman, B. J. (2015). Do sex and violence sell? A meta-analytic review of the effects of sexual and violent media and ad content on memory, attitudes, and buying intentions. Psychological Bulletin, 141(5), 1022.
MacKenzie, S. B., Lutz, R. J., & Belch, G. E. (1986). The role of attitude toward the ad as a mediator of advertising effectiveness: A test of competing explanations. Journal of Marketing Research, 130-143.
“Market Analysis of Malaysia.” (9 Feb. 2017). In ASEAN UP. Retrieved from https://aseanup.com/market-analysis-malaysia/.
Malik, M. E., Ghafoor, M. M., Iqbal, H. K., Ali, Q., Hunbal, H., Noman, M., & Ahmed, B. (2013). Impact of brand image and advertisement on consumer buying behavior. World Applied Sciences Journal, 23(1), 117-122.
McLeod, S. (2015). Cognitive Psychology. Retrieved 23 Nov. 2015, from Simply Psychology: http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive.html
Mendelson, A. L. & Bolls, P. D. (2002). Emotional effects of advertising on young adults of lower socio economic status. Retrieved 12 Oct. 2017, from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/1/1/3/7/p11138_index.html.
Motwani, D., Agarwal, K., & Shrimali, D. (2014). Impact of fear appeal in advertisement on consumer buying decision. International Research Journal of Management and Commerce, 1(3), 23-34.
Myrick, J., &Amp; Nabi, R. (2017). Fear arousal and health and risk messaging. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Retrieved 30 Sep. 2017, from http://communication.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-266.
O'Guinn, T. C. & Faber, R. J. (1989). Compulsive buying: A phenomenological exploration. Journal of Consumer Research, 16(2), 147-157.
Parment, A. (2013). Generation Y vs. baby boomers: Shopping behavior, buyer involvement and implications for retailing. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 20(2), 189-199.
Petry, N. M. (2002). A comparison of young, middle-aged, and older adult treatment-seeking pathological gamblers. The Gerontologist, 42(1), 92-99.
Pollay, R. (1986). The distorted mirror: Reflections on the unintended consequences of advertising. Journal of Marketing, 50(2), 18-36.
Ranjbarian, B., Fathi, S. & Lari, A. (2011), "The Influence of Attitude Toward Advertisement on Attitude Toward Brand and Purchase Intension: Students of Shiraz Medical University as a Case Study", Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3(6), 277-286.
Reichert, T., Heckler, S.E., & Jackson, S. (2001). The effects of sexual social marketing appeals on cognitive processing and persuasion. Journal of Advertising, 30(1), 13-27.
Ruiter, R. A., Kessels, L. T., Peters, G. J. Y., & Kok, G. (2014). Sixty years of fear appeal research: Current state of the evidence. International Journal of Psychology, 49(2), 63-70.
Sapsford, R. (1999). Survey research. London: Sage.
Sawang, S. (2010). Sex appeal in advertising: What consumers think. Journal of Promotion Management, 16(1-2), 167-187.
Steenhaut, S., & Van Kenhove, P. (2005). Relationship commitment and ethical consumer behavior in a retail setting: The case of receiving too much change at the checkout. Journal of Business Ethics, 56(4), 335-353.
Siddiqui, A. N. (2014). TV ads impact on consumer purchase intention. International Conference on Marketing. Karachi: Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan.
Wheatley, J. J., & Oshikawa, S. (1970). The relationship between anxiety and positive and negative advertising appeals. Journal of Marketing Research, 85-89.
Witte, K., & Allen, M. (2000). A meta-analysis of fear appeals: Implications for effective public health campaigns. Health Education & Behavior, 27(5), 591-615.
Wai, L. K., & Osman, S. (2017). Relationship between Attitude towards Advertisement Appeals and Consumer Buying Behaviour among Young Adults in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(11), 895-906.
Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
