When Awe Backfires: The Surprising Effect of Awe on Self-Gifting in Advertising

Abstract

A growing body of research highlights the benefits of awe—a self-transcendent emotion that shifts attention away from the self—for outcomes such as prosociality, mental and physical well-being, and life satisfaction. Drawing from this work, consumers often seek awe-evoking experiences, and advertisers increasingly embed awe-inducing elements in their messages, including in the promotion of self-gifts—products purchased for oneself as a reward, celebration, or source of comfort. Despite its popularity in marketing, the influence of awe on consumers’ desire for self-gifts remains largely unexplored. Across five studies spanning multiple ad formats, product categories, and awe induction methods, we find that awe decreases the desirability of advertised self-gifts by reducing consumers’ motivation to celebrate themselves—a central driver of self-gifting. This effect is moderated by individual differences in future temporal focus and materialism: awe diminishes self-gift desirability when both are high, but not when either is low. These findings challenge the widespread use of awe in advertising and identify boundary conditions that determine its effectiveness. Our research contributes to literature on emotion, advertising, and consumer psychology by showing that awe, despite its generally positive associations, can backfire, and provides actionable insights for marketers seeking to align emotional appeals with consumer motivations in self-gift campaigns.