The effect of comparative advertising on consumer perceptions: similarity or differentiation?

Purpose: Comparative advertising is seen as an effective means of conveying the differentiating advantages of a brand. Nevertheless, several studies show that a primary effect of comparative advertising is to lead consumers to associate the advertised brand with the competitor brand identified within the ad: it seems that comparison generates perceived similarity among brands instead of differentiation, per se. In order to clarify the issue, the aim of the research is to investigate the relative effectiveness of comparative and non-comparative advertising in communicating the differentiating attributes of a brand. Results: A two independent group experiment was conducted. Two hundred and eighty participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions in which they were exposed to a comparative or a non-comparative print ad. Results show that comparative advertising's effect depends on consumers' perceived differentiation among the brands and consumers' level of involvement with the specific product category. Findings demonstrate that high-involvement consumers that perceive low differentiation among brands represent the perfect target group for comparative advertising in case the aim of the marketing manager is to distinguish a particular brand among the others. Conclusion: This study provides evidence of the relevance of these two moderating factors: not all customers belonging to a product target group perceive comparative advertising equivalently. As a consequence, marketers should implement the advertising strategy which is more likely to be effective considering the characteristics of the main target. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009.