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Comparative advertising can be an effective way for new brands to break into markets and for established or tired brands to reposition and regain lost market share. Over one-third of advertising is comparative in nature, while approximately one-quarter of advertising directly identifies or names the competitive brand. (Freeman, 1987) Given that comparative advertising is so prevalent, the focal point of this paper is how to improve the use of comparative advertising. The topics in this paper include: definition and use of comparative advertising, history and background of comparative ads, the pros and cons of using comparative ads, how comparative advertising functions, and guidelines for the improved use of comparative ads.
DEFINITION AND USE OF COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING
Comparative advertising identifies the competition for the purpose of claiming superiority or enhancing perceptions of the sponsoring and usually lesser-known brand (James & Hensel, 1991). As such, comparative advertising is a persuasive advertising strategy meant to communicate verbally and visually the competitive advantage of superior brands in the marketplace. Comparative ads also have been termed contrast ads, negative ads, attack ads, or knocking copy (Moore, 1999).
Comparative advertising can involve the direct or indirect comparison of a sponsored brand in an advertisement or commercial. Specifically, a direct comparison advertisement explicitly names the competing brand and compares on two or more attributes, benefits, or market positions. An indirect comparison advertisement is comprised of an overall subtler comparison such as the "leading brand" or "Brand X" approach that does not name the competing brand. (Barry, 1993; Beard & Nye, 2011)
Simply discerning whether or not an advertisement conveys a comparative message is insufficient. That is, the level of comparative intensity must be considered in the use of comparative ads. The term comparative advertising intensity refers to the scaling of comparisons or the degree to which the competitor is identified. Advertisements may compare across competing brands wherein broad, general product comparisons are made against members of a product class or the vast majority of competitors. These may make comparisons on more than one attribute. Other comparative ads use a "leading brand" approach without naming the compared brand, i.e., fictitious brand or famed brand "X" of old. Or, comparative ads may attempt to engender perceived similarity between brands through associative rather than...