| Comparative ads, in which a brand compares itself to a competitor brand, are frequently used in print and television media. When marketers compare their brands to others, they often show comical situations in which misfortunes befall those consumers who are using competitors' brands instead of theirs. Extant research has examined the impact of comparative ads without taking consumers' affective reactions into account, even though persuasive messages have been shown to elicit affective reactions that may mediate consumers' attitudes and behaviors. In the current research, I examine "schadenfreude," defined as the pleasure at the misfortunes of others, as an incidental emotional response elicited by comparative ad appeals. Across a series of studies, I show that more competitive individuals are likely to experience greater levels of incidental schadenfreude when they are exposed to comparative ads. More importantly, I examine the downstream implications of invoking schadenfreude and show that more competitive individuals are more likely to buy the advertised product when a higher-status brand uses comparative ads, since these ads make them experience greater levels of incidental schadenfreude. |
