Abstract
Loneliness has become a widespread psychological experience in contemporary societies, intensified by digitalisation and shifting social dynamics. Meanwhile, preference for solitude has also emerged as a meaningful trait that reflects individuals’ motivation to be alone without necessarily experiencing negative affect. These two segments—consumers who feel lonely and consumers who actively enjoy solitude—are increasingly relevant for advertisers, yet research has seldom examined how they respond to specific advertising cues. Building on advertising cue theories and psychological perspectives on loneliness and solitude, this developing paper proposes that two core ad design elements—(1) a model’s gaze direction (direct vs. averted) as a visual social cue, and (2) conclusion explicitness (explicit vs. implicit) as a verbal certainty cue—jointly influence ad liking, contingent upon consumers’ loneliness level and preference for solitude. This research proposes two complementary studies: Study 1 (print ad context) tests how loneliness interacts with gaze direction and conclusion explicitness to shape ad liking; Study 2 (social media context) extends the framework to preference for solitude versus preference for social interaction. Across both studies, the research predicts theoretically meaningful two-way and three-way interactions that clarify when ads should “look at the consumer” and when they should “look away,” and whether message conclusions should be explicit or left open. The paper will contribute to advertising and consumer psychology by integrating social-cue processing and certainty needs, while also offering actionable segmentation-based guidance for ad design in both traditional and digital media.