An Examination of Classical Conditioning Principles in an Ecologically Valid Advertising Context

Abstract

The objective of this study was to apply classical conditioning principles in an examination of the effect of affectively valenced advertising on brand attitudes and purchase intentions. The most often-cited research on conditioning in an advertising context has primarily used artificial ads for fictitious brands as stimuli to gauge effect on attitudes. For increased ecological validity, practitioner developed television commercials for actual brands were used in a 2 (brand familiarity) X 2 (affect) X 3 (repetition) experimental design. As hypothesized, results suggest that ad affect’s influence on brand attitudes was inhibited by familiarity with the brand regardless of ad repetition, while unfamiliar brands showed evidence of a direct affect transfer from ad to brand. Implications for advertising managers in the areas of creative strategies and pretesting are discussed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter W. Smith

Peter W. Smith (Ph.D., Purdue University) is currently an associate professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Dr. Smith’s recent research has appeared in Journal of Food Products Marketing, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Advances in Consumer Research, Developments in Marketing Science, and Proceedings of the American Marketing Association.

Richard A. Feinberg

Richard A. Feinberg (Ph.D., University of Oklahoma) is a professor and Head of Consumer Sciences and Retailing at Purdue University. Dr. Feinberg is also Director of the Purdue University Retail Institute. He has taught at The Ohio State University and Juniata College. He is Associate Editor of the Family and Consumer Science Research Journal and the Journal of Business and Psychology. Research interests include customer satisfaction and customer service, credit cards, and shopping centers.

David J. Burns

David J. Burns (D.B.A., Kent State University) is a professor of marketing at Youngstown State University. His research has appeared in a number of journals including Journal of Business Ethics, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior, Review of Business, Journal of Social Psychology, Journal of Business and Psychology, and Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice. Dr. Burns’ current research interests include the causes and manifestations of innovative activities, retail atmospherics, and retail location.