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Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the varying impact of advertising appeals on customers’ impulse buying (IB) for vice and virtue products.

Design/methodology/approach

This research used two experiments varying humor/scarcity (high/low) and product category (vice versus virtue).

Findings

Humor (scarcity) enhances IB of vice (virtue) products through anticipation of enjoyment (perception of uniqueness).

Research limitations/implications

This research identifies a new antecedent of IB, advertising and additionally, a new moderator, product type (vice/virtue) in the ad appeal–IB relationship.

Practical implications

Practitioners managing vice (virtue) brands may use humor (scarcity) appeals to promote impulse buying.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrates that humor (scarcity) appeals enhance impulse buying of vice (virtue) products and shows the underlying mechanisms behind these effects.

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