A Longitudinal Study of Corrective Advertising

Abstract

Using corrective and deceptive advertisements taken from the FTC's “Listerine Case,” the authors examine whether exposure to a single corrective advertisement can reduce residual effects emanating from exposure to deceptive advertising in a longitudinal context. Results show that limited exposure to corrective advertisements was ineffective in bringing brand beliefs into equilibrium with “normative” levels. Findings also indicate that corrective ads affect other attributes of the product category even though they are not addressed in a remedial message.