Dynamic Luxury Advertising: Using Lifestyle versus Functional Advertisements in Different Purchase Stages

Prior work shows that luxury brands predominantly prefer lifestyle advertisements to functional advertisements such that abstract or intangible elements are prevalent, but concrete or tangible elements are less common. This begs the following question: Is this because lifestyle advertisements are more effective than functional advertisements? This research shows that, depending on the situation, functional advertisements can be more effective for luxury products than lifestyle advertisements. Specifically, we apply a two-stage model of decision-making to the luxury purchase context. In stage 1, the motivation formation stage, consumers do not yet intend to buy a luxury product and are still forming purchase interest and motivation. In stage 2, the purchase decision-making stage, consumers desire to buy a luxury product, and their focus is on deciding which product to buy. Compared with stage 1, in stage 2, functional advertisements can be more effective for luxury products than lifestyle advertisements. This effect is consistent with the construal level theory. That is, the matching of construal levels between functional advertisements and the purchase decision-making stage increases the likelihood of making a purchase. This research contributes to literature on luxury branding, luxury advertising, lifestyle and functional branding and offers practical implications to luxury brand managers.