In this article we review the literature on guilt in advertising. We examine the role of responsibility and involvement, and the religions impact towards making people feel guilty. Guilt is proposed to have a positive impact on altruism and behavioral intentions, and a low impact on perceptions of ad effectiveness. Here, the reasons behind these are examined, and suggestions are provided to make guilt an effective theme in advertising.

Indian cinema has come a long way in the last 80 years, from the silent talkies like `Alam Ara' to Oscar nominated blockbuster `Laagan', but one fundamental aspect of Indian movie making stays the samethe very basic movie making recipe. Cultural studies have shown that Indians live in a collectivistic society and are high in most emotional dimensions, something the movie makers have taken advantage of for ages. The Indian entertainment world is nothing but an emotional roller coaster ride. The Indian advertising industry has also used emotion as a tool to lure consumers over the years, much like its international counterpart. One can never forget the `Prestige pressure cooker' campaign, which did its fair share to induce guilt in a husband by the tag line, `If you really love your wife, how can you say no to Prestige ?' However, the range of emotions tapped by these ads is quite different compared to the American and European ads, due to cultural differences. The purpose of this article is to identify and discuss the role of guilt as an emotional element and its use in Indian charity advertising scenario.

Guilt has been used in many different ways in marketing and communications literature. As a psychological construct, `guilt is defined as a realization that one has violated ethical, moral or religious principles, together with a regretful feeling of lessened personal worth on that account'. (Wolman, 1973). A common example of ads tapping this kind of guilt would be ads from religious organizations urging people to join their prayer services and become members. Guilt can also be a result of a conflict in information processing.

Advertising Express Magazine, Guilt in Advertising, Cultural Studies, Indian Movie Making, Indian Entertainment World, Indian Advertising Industry, Indian Charity, Communications Literature, Indian History, Empirical Studies, Healthcare Products, Marketing Communications.