#Ad, #commercial, #sponsored: The role of ad recognition in the activation of attitudes toward the ad regarding sponsored content

Abstract

THE AIMS OF THE PAPER

Prior research has focused on persuasion knowledge without considering general ad attitudes that can influence the level of critical evaluation of the message. We aimed to fill this gap by examining how advertising recognition can activate general ad attitudes that can affect implicit and explicit attitudes toward specific ambiguous messages.

METHODOLOGY

A 2×4 mixed-design experiment was conducted with two different video stimuli (product review and celebrity endorsement) and four different disclosure of advertising conditions (no information control; paid commercial; paid commercial, but not typical; video, not paid commercial).

MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS

Results indicated that the disclosure type did not directly influence advertising recognition. However, disclosure type had direct effects both on explicit ad and product attitudes. We also found that ad recognition-activated general attitudes toward advertising had effects on both implicit and explicit ad attitudes as well as product attitudes. Despite differences in implicit and explicit interaction patterns, when the ambiguous message was recognized as an ad, participants with negative general advertising attitudes were more critical of the specific ads compared to those with positive general advertising attitudes.

RECOMMENDATIONS

In sum, these results suggest that brief disclosures can be an effective tool only among those with generally negative attitudes toward ads. However, negative attitudes toward advertising in general can be an effective tool against the unwanted negative effects of advertising, especially in low elaboration conditions.