This paper investigates the influence of exposure to (unattainable) luxury on consumers’ materialistic and extrinsic goal pursuit. We show that exposure to luxury may produce very different effects depending on whether a person feels that (s)he is able or unable to attain the depicted luxuries. Specifically, in three studies, we demonstrate that being able to attain the exposed luxuries increases levels of materialism. In contrast, viewing unattainable luxury may trigger self-protection mechanisms. In particular, after being exposed to unattainable luxuries, participants tended to devaluate the importance they attached to materialistic (extrinsic) goals, due to decreased levels of self-esteem