Death primes in advertisements: how international advertisers can ensure their message is effective

Abstract

Mortality salience is omnipresent in the life of consumers. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when consumers retire, or when they consider products related to death such as life insurance. This research examines how consumers’ level of religious commitment and geographic location influence response to death primes in advertisements. Using terror management theory as a conceptual framework, three experiments examine differences between consumers sampled from countries in Asia and the Americas. Study 1 reveals that consumers sampled from an Asian (vs. American) country respond more positively to death primes (vs. no prime) in advertisements. Study 2 replicates these findings and shows that religious commitment moderates such effects, with lower religious commitment consumers being more reactive to death primes than higher religious commitment consumers. Study 3 confirms religion’s influence by priming religion and identifies perceived product need as mediating the relationship between the interaction of religion × death prime × country and advertised product evaluations. Practical implications for international advertising are provided.