Underpinned by art infusion theory and construal level theory, this research examines the role of illustrations and photographs in advertising a novel product (i.e. clean meat) and explores the underlying psychological mechanism of luxuriousness. We conducted three experiments to examine the differential effects of illustrations and photographs on customers’ willingness to try a meat product and ascertain whether this relationship was mediated by perceived luxuriousness. Participants reported a greater willingness to try a novel product, such as clean meat, when the advertisement featured an illustration (vs. a photograph), demonstrating the art infusion effect. However, there were non-significant differences among participants in terms of their willingness to try a familiar product, such as conventional meat. The indirect effect of illustration on willingness to try clean mean via perceived luxuriousness was stronger compared to the conventional meat condition. This mediation effect of luxuriousness was also validated using the moderation-of-process approach. The findings provide meaningful guidelines to marketing practitioners and highlight the pertinence of art infusion to clean meat consumption, a relatively unexplored research area.