Advertising is present in every aspect of our lives: it reaches and persuades consumers through different channels and media. Because advertisements are designed merely with the purpose of influencing our buying behavior, advertising is often pinpointed as the driving force behind creating (unrealistic) desires and luring people into consumption. Hence, the notion that advertising may trigger materialism seems quite obvious and intuitive. The extant evidence, however, is relatively scarce and mostly correlational, precluding causal interpretation. Therefore, this dissertation addresses the...