Dimensionality of advertising attitudes: cross-national insights

A consensus emerging from writings about attitudes towards advertising in general is that such attitudes consist of two dimensions: the social and economic effects. However, as is the case with other marketing concepts and propositions, the findings pertaining to the structure of advertising attitudes are primarily based on American research. This study investigates the dimensionality of advertising attitudes in a non-US setting. The results obtained from a survey of Saudi adult consumers suggest that advertising attitudes do indeed decompose into social and economic effects dimensions as espoused in the US-based literature. The measures developed to capture the two dimensions demonstrate satisfactory internal consistency reliability and pass the tests for convergent, discriminant and concurrent validity. The implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Attitudes toward the extension and parent brand in response to extension advertising

This paper investigates how ads for extensions can trigger different reactions with respect to consumers' attitudes towards new line and brand extensions of familiar brands. Using a structural equation model, the authors research the influence of attitude towards the ad (Aad), parent brand quality, and perceived fit on attitude toward the extension (Aext), and resulting feedback effects on attitude toward the parent brand (Apb) with a sample of 509 Belgians. Results are compared between two types of advertising strategies (informational vs. positive emotional). The findings indicate that informational appeals, in comparison to emotional appeals, reduce the effects of parent brand quality and fit, but Aad is all the more important. In terms of feedback effects to the parent brand, Aext transfers more easily to Apb with an informational appeal than with a positive emotional appeal. On the other hand, Aad directly influences Apb for positive emotional appeals, but not informational appeals.     

Taiwanese students' attitudes towards and beliefs about advertising

This study aimed to investigate college students' attitudes towards advertising in Taiwan using a survey method. This study applied two advertising constructs and their operationalizations which were developed in the USA: beliefs about advertising and attitudes towards advertising in general (AG). Specifically, this paper intends to determine whether the factor structure of these beliefs is similar to those in the USA and other South Asian countries. It also measures whether Taiwanese consumers' beliefs about advertising predict their AG. Six belief factors were extracted and they accounted for 56.5% of the variance. While the results from the factor analysis did not replicate the results from the USA and other South Asian countries perfectly, the similarities were large enough to conclude that the belief structure underlying AG is similar to these regions. By regression analysis, four of the six factors contributed significantly to the prediction of consumers' AG. Three out of four predictor factors matched those found in other Asian countries. These findings indicated that Taiwanese consumers had the same AG as those in five South Asian countries. These consistent findings provide a benchmark for future study on crossnational consumer beliefs about advertising and AG.     

Consumer Responses to Slice-of-Life Versus Slice-of-Death Advertising Appeals: Exploring the Role of Polysemy,Branding, and Culture

Prior research has not verified the theoretical or practical value of slice-of-life and slice-of-death advertising appeals in relation to advertising and branding constructs like advertising polysemy and consumer-based brand equity. The authors make conceptual, measurement, and managerial contributions to this research issue dealing with slice of life versus death advertising appeals. Across three studies, the authors measure, evaluate, compare, and contrast slice-of-life and slice-of-death (SOL/D) advertising appeals across British and American cultures. The authors demonstrate the interrelationships of SOL/D appeals with advertising polysemy, consumer-based brand equity, cultural differences in advertising attitudes, and purchase intentions. From a measurement perspective, the authors develop and validate parsimonious measures of slice-of-life and slice-of-death (SOL/D) advertising appeals. Furthermore, they test the assumptions that underlie these appeals for United States and British customers, and investigate how the cultural characteristic of uncertainty avoidance moderates the impact of SOL/D advertising attitudes on purchase intentions. Managerially, the research demonstrates that SOL/D appeals offer value in predicting (a) consumer-based brand equity through advertising polysemy, (b) consumers’ advertising attitudes across different cultures, (c) consumers’ intentions to purchase, and (d) advertising differences and varying consumer responses in the United States and Britain.     

Race and attitude formation in HIV/Aids fear advertising

The study on which this article is based, examined whether fear appeal advertising increases the likelihood of adopting appropriate behavior and whether different racial groups perceive fear appeals pertaining to HIV/Aids communication differently. The extent of fear, attitude towards the advertisements, as well as threat and efficacy were also investigated to ascertain the influence of different levels of fear appeals.Social marketing programs address various pandemics and anti-social behavior, where citizens act in conflict with accepted social conduct. The use of fear as a motivation in advertising places emphasis on the severity of the threat. Marketing practitioners, believing the message is too difficult to implement, have questioned the use of fear appeal advertising messages.The findings of this study indicate differences among racial groups pertaining to levels of fear and attitude towards advertisements, as well as differences in threat and efficacy experienced after exposure to high fear appeals compared to other appeals.     

Advertising strategy and effective advertising: comparing the USA and Australia

A considerable body of research makes cross-cultural comparisons of advertising content and executional factors. Much of this work compares very different cultures. This study compared the strategic elements found in television commercials that have received industry recognition for effectiveness in two similar cultures, the USA and Australia. The study found that effective messages were similar in terms of selling propositions, tone and positive versus negative appeals. Specifically, the messages were similar in terms of their emphasis on product attributes and performance and a heavy reliance on humour. Effective campaigns differed in their creative strategy, rational versus emotional appeals and the presence of a brand-differentiating message. It is suggested that the differences in advertising arose from differences in the marketplace and cultural environment.     

An examination of measurement context effects in empirically based advertising research

The purpose of this research was to examine the issue of measurement context effects in advertising processing research. Based upon a review of the advertising processing literature and recent research focusingon measurement contexteffects, hypotheses were specified and empirically tested via a measurement context experiment. The results indicate that the cognitions measurement treatment procedures used in advertisement processing model tests produce small measurement context effects. However, these effects are not sufficiently severe to suggest a reinterpretation of previous findings or to result in drastic changes in future advertisement processing research methods. The results suggest the process of measuring respondents' attitudes towards advertisements did not result in statistically significant measurement context effects on the measures of attitudes towards brands or purchase intentions.     

Advertising persuasion in China: Using Mandarin or Cantonese?

Advertising persuasion may differ based on different languages and/or dialects. Using Chinese samples, this study experimentally tests how a spokesperson's accents (standard Mandarin accent and local Cantonese accent) influence advertising persuasion across different product involvements (high- or low-involvement products) and different advertising appeals (rational or emotional ads). The results show that ads promoting high (low)-involvement products will produce higher persuasion when the ads use Mandarin (Cantonese) rather than Cantonese (Mandarin). In addition, ads with rational (emotional) appeals will result in higher persuasion when presented in Mandarin (Cantonese) rather than Cantonese (Mandarin). The findings contribute to a better understanding of an ad's persuasion with respect to a spokesperson's accents, and offer managerial implications for marketers doing advertising in a multilingual environment such as China.     

Exploring antecedents of attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising and inter-attitudinal and inter-skepticism consistency on three levels: an international study

Abstract

Given the increasing relevance of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs to individuals’ health and well-being, this study explores whether selected health variables, as well as consumers’ attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, influence their attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising. It extends previous research by building on the theory of inter-attitudinal consistency, examining how three different levels of attitudes and skepticism are interrelated. A field study was conducted on three continents (727 subjects; non-student sample). Results reveal that consumer attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, influence attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising in particular, which positively impact the attitudes and skepticism towards four different ad appeal types. The study extends the theory of inter-attitudinal consistency to inter-skepticism consistency. Results further indicate that attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general can be considered as key antecedents, but that several additional health-related factors also influence consumers’ attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising. Moreover, attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, towards pharmaceutical advertising, as well as towards specific pharmaceutical ads, are negatively related. Reasons explaining these results are addressed, as are study limitations and implications for future research.     

The Influence of Product/Nudity Congruence on Advertising Effectiveness

Abstract

While a body of research has examined the effects of nudity appeals in advertising, previous studies examining the question of product/nudity congruency have failed to consider product categories of equivalent levels of involvement and towards which respondents had similar purchase intention. In this experimental study, we examine the role which product/nudity congruency and levels of nudity have on several measures of advertising effectiveness. We also examine the effect of the usa between these two variables. Our findings suggest that product type and the interaction between degree of nudity and product both influence significantly certain measures of advertising effectiveness. Implications for marketing professionals and researchers are outlined, along with directions for future research.     

文化差异及其对广告诉求的影响:基于中美比较的视角(英文)

全球营销获得成功的首要条件是理解不同文化之间的价值观的相似性和差异性。由于缺乏以研究为基础获得的信息,这一任务对于试图与中国做生意的公司而言尤为艰巨。本研究采用霍夫斯塔德文化模型中的最新价值观来比较中美之间波莱广告诉求的有效性。在以文化维度为基础预测有效诉求的20个假设中,有9个得到了支持。另外一个假设也非常显著,但是与预想的方向正好相反。这些研究发现意味着,采用霍夫斯塔德文化维度作为有效广告诉求的唯一预测指标是不明智的。霍夫斯塔德维度或许缺乏可以有效预测各种广告诉求成功度所必需的结构。此外,广告诉求的有效性还可能由于其他因素(例如,年龄、社会趋势、政治法律环境及产品用法)而有所调整。     

When transparency pays off: Enticing sceptical consumers with two-sided advertising

It has been generally assumed that higher levels of scepticism towards advertising invariably lead to higher resistance to advertising appeals. The main purpose of the present research was to examine whether highly sceptical consumers' resistance can be overcome by appeals associated with higher credibility. We tested our hypotheses using message sidedness as an advertising variable that has been associated with higher (two-sided) versus lower (one-sided) credibility. In three experimental studies, we examined more versus less sceptical consumers' responses to two- versus one-sided appeals. We found that two-sided messages are more effective in increasing purchase intentions, through enhanced credibility, but only for consumers who are more sceptical of advertising. Less sceptical consumers trust both messages equally and their purchase intentions are not affected by the type of message. Importantly, we also showed that highly sceptical consumers trust two-sided appeals as much as their less sceptical counterparts. The study contributes to the literature on advertising and persuasion knowledge by showing that advertising scepticism does not elicit a single response tendency, as originally conceptualized. Rather, advertising scepticism is more consistent with the underpinnings of the Persuasion Knowledge Model, in that higher knowledge about persuasion tactics aids consumers to better cope with, and not invariably resist persuasion attempts. We conclude that transparency pays off because it may entice a more sceptical audience and, at the same time, it does not harm less sceptical consumers' trust and purchase intentions.     

The role of art infusion in enhancing pro-environmental luxury brand advertising

Underpinned by art infusion theory, this present research examines the effect of art infusion on brand attitudes under different brand conditions (i.e. pro-environmental luxury brands and luxury brands) in advertising. Across two experimental studies, this research offers empirical evidence to a moderated mediation model, such that when an advertisement features an artwork (vs. no-artwork), consumers will perceive lower levels of incompatibility between luxury and sustainability, leading to a more favorable brand attitude toward the pro-environmental luxury brand. However, such differences will not occur among consumers evaluating an ordinary luxury brand. The findings of this research broaden the current body of knowledge related to the art infusion effect and provide important implications for marketers in their advertising strategy. Furthermore, these findings suggest that art infusion may be the solution to the dilemma facing sustainable luxury brands since luxury and sustainability are often perceived as incongruent concepts.     

Effects of underdog (vs. top dog) positioning advertising

The study investigates individual differences in attitudes towards brands being positioned as underdogs in advertising from an emotional perspective. We argue that the personality trait of empathic concern moderates the underdog effect on brand attitude and that the moderating effect is mediated by empathic response to the advertisement. We conducted three experiments with ads using top-dog and underdog appeals. Those who have stronger empathic concern showed more favourable attitudes towards the brand advertised through underdog positioning, and the effect of empathic concern was mediated by the empathic response to the underdog positioning advertisement. For managers, targeting consumers who have high levels of empathic concern could result in more favourable attitudes towards underdog businesses when using underdog appeals.     

Effects of Consumer Weight Level and Advertising Appeals on Consumer Attitude Toward Food and Advertisements

This study examines the link between consumer weight level, food type, and consumer attitude toward both food and food advertisements. Further, this research explores how food advertisements containing emotional or informational claims influence the attitudes of overweight and normal-weight consumers. Two experiments were conducted to study the interaction between weight levels, food types (meat vs. vegetables), and advertising appeals (emotional vs. informational). The results showed mixed support for the six hypotheses. The findings indicate that consumer weight level interacts with food types, and emotional/information appeals affecting food evaluation and attitudes toward food advertisements. Managerial implications for food manufacturers and advertisers are discussed.     

Green Demarketing in Advertisements: Comparing “Buy Green” and “Buy Less” Appeals in Product and Institutional Advertising Contexts

This research compares consumer response to traditional green advertising appeals to that of less conventional, “green demarketing” (GD) appeals—messages by for-profit companies encouraging reduced category consumption for the sake of the environment. Rather than encouraging greener consumption, modern environmentalism calls for decreased consumption overall, a trend reflected in recent advertising campaigns (e.g., Patagonia's “Don't Buy This Jacket”). Despite its potential impact and unconventionality, research on GD in general is sparse, and no empirical research has examined consumer response to GD appeals relative to traditional green appeals. In three experiments, we find that, in the context of product advertising, consumers' attitudes for green ads are more favorable than those for GD ads, mediated by greater inferences of genuine environmental concern. However, we find the reverse pattern in the context of institutional ads. Further, an “anti-consumption amplifier” message embedded in the ad—espousing the potential harm of overconsumption—further boosts favorable consumer attitudes for the GD institutional ad relative to its traditional green counterpart. Importantly, we assess all effects while controlling for consumers' individual levels of green consumerism, such that implications may be applied more generally rather than to a specific segment of green consumers.     

Right appeals for the 'right self': connectedness–separateness self-schema and cross-cultural persuasion

While culture is often used as a segmentation variable, it may not be used as a surrogate for individual consumer in particular cultures. It is important to identify the underlying mechanism that explains the observed cross-cultural similarities and differences of consumer behaviour and to conduct international advertising research based on theoretically valid frameworks. The present paper presents the connectedness-separateness (C-S) self-schema theory based on psychological and anthropological research streams. It is argued that consumers from different cultures tend to have different construals of the self, which in turn influence their cognition, emotion, motivation and behaviour. It is proposed that cross-cultural differences in consumer responses to different advertising appeals may be explained by consumer C-S self-schema, rather than cultural orientation per se . The C-S construct can also be employed to segment the world market across cultures as well as within a culture. A series of propositions is developed by relating cross-cultural differences in self-construal to the effective design of cross-cultural advertising themes and executions.     

The Effects of Ad Irritation on Brand Attitudes

Abstract

Brand attitude has been proposed to be an antecedent to purchase intentions. However, very few studies have specifically focused on ad irritation as an antecedent to attitude towards the brand. This paper examines the effect of ad irritation on brand attitudes and if the effect of ad irritation is independent of ad credibility, attitude towards the advertiser, attitude towards advertising, and ad-induced feelings. The results indicated that ad irritation was not significant in predicting brand attitudes. Respondents' prior brand attitude, ad credibility, ad-induced feelings and attitude towards the advertiser were significant predictors of brand attitudes. Based on the results, several managerial implications were derived regarding the usefulness of ad irritation in changing brand attitudes.     

An Analysis of Consumer Complaints about Social Marketing Advertisements in Australia and New Zealand

While social marketers are rarely targeted in discussions of the ethics of advertising, we are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of ensuring that social marketing messages are developed and conveyed in an ethical fashion. The article reviews complaints made by members of the general public in Australia and New Zealand to the advertising regulatory bodies in those two countries for the five years 2000–2004; examining the number, type, and nature of these complaints – including the categories of advertising, and the types of appeals, which generate complaints from the general public in both countries. We find that, as for commercial advertising, there is a need for further research to explore “community standards” in relation to social marketing messages; and that there is a clear need for social marketers to consider consumer attitudes towards advertising when developing communication strategies and messages.     

The Impact of Price Level and Appeal Type in Hotel Advertising: A Pilot Study

Limited extant experimental research on advertising appeal effectiveness in the presence of price cues in a service offer provides the motivation for this study. While past research has found support for the effectiveness of both rational and emotional appeals in services marketing, this research, in the context of hotel advertising, shows that appeal type effectiveness may vary with the price level of the service. More specifically, this study finds that rational appeals are more effective than emotional appeals for low-priced hotels, but for high-priced hotels, rational and emotional appeals show no significant difference in influencing consumer evaluations of the offer.