Purpose This paper aims to examine how exposure to sexual images activates the urge to yield to temptation in a subsequent unrelated context. Design/methodology/approach In Study 1, this paper uses empirical data based on an automobile expo to examine the correlational relationship between sexual imagery and indulgence. In Studies 2 and 3, this study examines the moderating effects of self-construal and gender differences on indulgent consumption, with different dependent measures. Study 4 distinguishes the sexual images into gratuitous sex and romantic love and tests the mediating role of sensation seeking. Findings For men, an independent self-construal increases indulgent consumption. In contrast, an interdependent self-construal facilitates women’s indulgent consumption. Having an interdependent self-construal has the opposite impact on indulgent consumption for the two genders: sexual images of romantic love attenuate the effect on men but boost the effect on women. Perceived sensation-seeking serves as the underlying mechanism. Research limitations/implications This paper contributes to the literature on sex, reward-processing, context effects in marketing and indulgent consumption. Practical implications Advertisers, retailers, food courts and restaurants may use sexual imagery to promote more indulgent consumption with gender and self-construal as segmentation variables. Public policymakers and other concerned parties should also raise consumers’ awareness of the priming effect found in this research. Originality/value This research advances the literature on sex by demonstrating the priming effects of sexual imagery and further considers the simultaneous impacts of gender and self-construal on consumers’ subsequent indulgent consumption.

This research examines how the typeface design in a charitable appeal affects consumers' evaluations of the ad and, in turn, their willingness to engage in the advertised charitable activities. We propose that the typeface's simulation of a handwritten note creates a sense of connectedness to the information sender (e.g., organization, brand), which subsequently increases consumers' willingness to engage in the advertised charitable activities. Six experiments, including laboratory and field studies, provide support for the typeface effect and further support the underlying process by (1) directly examining connectedness, and (2) manipulating brand attachment, showing that a handwritten typeface creates a more positive effect when the viewer is not strongly connected to the brand (vs. having a strong brand attachment). Our findings provide useful guidelines for brand managers, social marketers and charity fundraisers regarding how and when to use a handwritten typeface design.

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