Comparative Advertising: Perspectives and Issues

A strategy of advertising being used more and more frequently today, particularly in print and TV, is comparative advertising-the explicit verbal and/or visual presentation of competitor's names in the message. Although never banned, comparative advertising has historically been frowned upon particularly by the three major television networks. However, in early 1972 the Federal Trade Commission came out in favor of comparative advertising, and there has been a dramatic increase in its use in the past three years. There are many questions generated by a comparative advertising strategy. For example, "Is comparative advertising simply a comparison strategy or is it disparagement?" "Is it believable?" "Will it propogate more FTC regulation?" This article presents a perspective for comparative advertising and raises issues concerning its appropriateness for marketing managers.