Age-related differences in responses to emotional advertisements

This research investigated motivational influences associated with age on re-sponses to emotional advertisements. Experiment 1 showed increased liking and recall of emotional ads among older consumers and that time horizon perspective moderates these age-related differences. Experiment 2 revealed influences of age and time horizon perspective on responses to different types of emotional ads. Ads focusing on avoiding negative emotions were liked and recalled more among older consumers and among young consumers made to have a limited time horizon perspective. This research illustrates the importance of considering age-related differences in information processing due to motivational as well as to cognitive changes. Researchers increasingly recognize the growing size andeconomic importance of the older (age 65 and over) consumer segment (e.g., Cole and Gaeth 1990; Yoon 1997). Accordingly, interest in and research on the psychology of older consumers has been steadily on the rise. Much of this research has focused on changes in information processin