Can you feel the advertisement tonight? The effect of ASMR cues in video advertising on purchase intention

ASMR is a sensory response characterized by physical tingles in the head and spine that can be induced by everyday life cues like watching or hearing someone's hair being brushed. As numerous videos are now deliberately designed to evoke ASMR, brands have also shown interest to include ASMR cues in their advertisements. This paper presents three studies scrutinizing ASMR experiences, both in a non-advertising and advertising context. First, a web-scraping study suggests that ASMR is typically associated with feelings of relaxation. Furthermore, two experiments show the positive influence of embedding ASMR cues in advertisements on consumers' purchase intentions. A serial mediation analysis demonstrates that this positive effect can be explained by increased feelings of relaxation, which enable a better flow-like experience. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.