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The effects of advertising appeals on consumers in old and new markets are explored.

Packaged goods manufacturers distribute cents-off coupons in free-standing inserts (FSIs) in newspapers. Free-standing insert coupons are typically composed of two parts: the coupon per se and a print advertisement. Using two laboratory experiments and a separate analysis of coupon measurements from scanner panels, the authors investigate whether the content of the print advertisement influences the effectiveness of the coupon. Theoretical arguments suggest that the impact on consumer attitudes will depend on the executional cues of the copy, the brand loyalty of the consumers, and the consumers' involvement with the product category. The results support the theoretical framework and suggest that it is possible to make FSI coupons more effective by choosing appropriate executional cues for their advertising copy. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Introduction Few would argue that a relatively large ad is a powerful attention-grabber. Perhaps more importantly, the size of a print advertisement may convey important brand-related information that consumers use [...]

Recent years have seen great interest, both academic and managerial, in the issue of whether advertising has any appreciable impact on short-term sales and - if it does - the [...]

I find it strange that someone from Millward Brown should be writing an article with this title. However, there can be little doubt that there is a need to put [...]

The Advertising Research Foundation's Copy Research Validity Project (Haley and Baldinger, 1991, hereafter referred to as the CRVP; also see Haley, 1990, for an earlier report) is the most comprehensive [...]

The conventional wisdom most frequently proffered regarding copy for print advertisements has long been 'keep it short and simple' (Macklin, Bruvold, and Shea, 1985). And, in line with that attitude, [...]

One of the biggest problems for advertisers is determining if an advertisement is unfair or deceptive, since the criteria being used by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in deciding such matters are unclear. The standards the FTC is likely to use in the consideration of copy-test data as part of deception cases may be better understood by reviewing previous cases. Based on the outcomes of past FTC deception cases, important considerations for copy-test research include the representativeness of sample, the use of control groups, the appropriateness of research method used, and the experience and competence of researchers.

The Advertising Research Foundation Copy Research Validity Project was designed to determine the effectiveness of advertising copy. The objectives of the project included whether copy tests could identify high-selling products, which measures were most effective, and which types of measures were most predictive. The individual measures that were tested included persuasion, recall, and reaction to commercials. The results included that copy testing did relate to sales, researchers should use multiple measures rather than a single measure when evaluating the effectiveness of advertising copy, and at least one measure within each type of measure had a positive relationship with sales performance. The most surprising result was that there was a strong relationship between the likability of advertising copy and its impact on sales.

Trade journal advertising often uses a considerable amount of written text to deliver the advertiser's message. Whether these ads are read and understood by the intended target market may depend upon the ease with which the ad can be read. This study uses Gunning's Fog Index to compare the readability levels of 101 trade journal advertisements to the readability levels of articles in 13 trade journals randomly selected for analysis. Although a substantial difference in readability levels among trade journals was found, a high level of association between the mean readability level of ads and the mean readability level of articles within each trade journal exists. Based on readability levels, ad writers appear to be adapting the readability levels of their ads to the differing readability levels of various trade journals. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Advertising professionals may be correct in assuming that newspaper reach is declining, but they are incorrect about several other assumptions related to the effectiveness of newspaper advertising. Many media researchers assume that consumers merely glance at newspaper headlines, but research has indicated that approximately 60% of readers open every page of the newspaper. In addition, the more material that people read on a page, they more they continue to read. Researchers have claimed that putting more than 150 words in an advertisement is ineffective. However, one full-page, all-copy advertisement for gasoline gained one of the highest readership scores ever attained. Research has indicated that a newspaper advertisement with a 15% price reduction can lead to a 200% increase in sales, and an advertisement without a price reduction can lead to a 100% increase in sales.

This paper reports findings from a telephone study conducted among agency art directors and copywriters about their attitudes and beliefs about television commercials. The study finds significant differences between these [...]

In view of globalization it is increasingly necessary to appraise marketing knowledge and to internationally generalize it from market to market; the research technique that comprises this effort is called meta-analysis. Two meta-analysis examples are reviewed, and it is indicated that the non-industrialized world has ad opportunities, and that knowledge gained from studied markets can be transferred to related unstudied ones. The creation of strategies to handle similar international consumer reaction patterns should be stressed over questions regarding world products or consumers. Copy testing examples described indicate the importance of such testing in the international marketplace.

A methodological approach is used to investigate the importance of headlines in prize-winning print advertisements. The evaluated advertisements had headlines that were agreed to contain one of six content characteristics or commonalities that contribute to the success of the ads. Of the 81 sample advertisements, more than one half of the headlines were judged to employ either familiar sayings or contrast techniques. Also, using news information, shock, asking questions and stimulating curiosity were determined to be valid headline techniques.

An analysis of 832 U.S. radio commercials, spanning 31 product categories, identifie's factors that can affect a commercial's performance. Performance can be changed by copywriters. Most commercials tested were announcer ads', and for this type of advertising, it is shown brand name repetition increases recall, whereas number of included in a commercial has no effect on recall.

Copy Research: Fact and Fiction Systematic advertising research did not evolve until the 1940s for the talking advertising messages known as radio. TV arrived on the scene in the 1950s [...]

We particularly want to thank Rossiter and Eagleson for their appreciation of the strengths of the paired feature of the CRVP research design. If a researcher wants to understand the [...]

Research too often measures people's opinions or memories of advertising, rather than their actions In their never-ending quest for meaningful evaluation of non-response ad copy, researchers have used basal skin [...]