A Further Assessment of Indirect Comparative Advertising Claims of Superiority Over All Competitors

Although numerous inquiries concerning comparative advertising appear in the literature, little research has examined indirect comparative claims touting a brand's superiority over all competitors. While the available evidence offers advertisers little reason to use such claims, our research conveys a different story about its effectiveness. Study 1 shows indirect comparative advertising claiming superiority over all competitors to be more effective than direct comparative and noncomparative advertising in positioning a brand against the entire market along featured attributes. Study 2 demonstrates that indirect comparative advertising's inferiority in positioning a brand against a specific competitor versus all competitors disappears when consumers spontaneously generate this competitor during ad processing.  Return to Dr. Manning's Home Page