Here's the Beef: Factors, Determinants, and Segments in Consumer Criticism of Advertising

Abstract

A comprehensive model of attitudes toward advertising includes three personal utility factors (product information, social image information, and hedonic amusement) and four socioeconomic factors (good for economy, fostering materialism, corrupting values, and falsity/no-sense). The proposed 7-factor model was tested on two independent samples: collegians (188) and householders (195) from Ohio and Mississippi Valley states, explaining 62% and 56% of the variance in their global attitudes, respectively. The model's dimensions were used to profile these publics and to identify attitudinal segments within them. Most respondents exhibited conflict between an appreciation of the personal uses and economic value of advertising and an apprehension of cultural degradation.