The Effects of Advertiser Reputation and Extremity of Advertising Claim on Advertising Effectiveness

A factorial experiment was developed in which the reputation of the advertising firm and the extremity of the advertising claim were manipulated. Two levels of advertiser reputation, focusing on the expertise and trustworthiness of the sponsoring firm, were developed. Claim extremity was structured on a rank-order scale with product claims as first, third, fifth, or twentieth best among 100 competing brands. Product evaluation was significantly influenced by both independent variables and by the interaction between the two. Measures of ad credibility helped provide an explanation for the findings.