It may be ill-advised for advertisers to avoid technical language in print media messages directed to household consumers. Results of an experiment reported here suggest that technical wording levels in ads combine with the audience's educational levels and product experience to generate a series of product perceptions, advertising evaluations, and purchase considerations.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbruzziniPompeo (1967), “Measuring Language Difficulty in Advertising Copy,”Journal of Marketing, 31(April), 22–26.
2.
BarrA. J., editors (1976), A User's Guide to SAS 76, Raleigh, NC: Sparks Press, 57–65.
3.
BerelsonBernard, and SteinerGary A. (1964), Human Behavior: An Inventory of Scientific Findings, New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World, Inc., 527–547.
4.
BettmanJames R., and KakkarPradeep (1977), “Effects of Information Presentation Format on Consumer Information Acquisition Strategies,”Journal of Consumer Research, 3(March), 233–240.
5.
CoxDonald F. (1961), “Clues for Advertising Strategists,”Harvard Business Review, 39(November-December), 165–166.
6.
HeiderFritz (1958), The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations, New York: John Wiley and Sons, 89–92, and 123.
7.
KelleyH. H. (1967), “Attribution Theory in Social Psychology,” in Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, LevineD., ed., Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 194–195.
8.
LautmanMartin R., and PercyLarry (1978), “Consumer-Oriented Versus Advertiser-Oriented Language: Comprehensibility and Salience of the Advertising Message,”Proceedings of the Association for Consumer Research, 52–56.
9.
LuskinJack (1976), “The Manufacturer's Contribution to Appliance Retailing,” paper presented at the 1976 Discount Appliance Dealers’ Conference, New York (November).
10.
MaloneyJohn C. (1963), “Is Advertising Believability Really Important?”Journal of Marketing, 27(October), 1–8.
11.
McNealJames U. (1973), An Introduction to Consumer Behavior, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 201.
12.
RobertsonThomas S. (1971), Innovative Behavior and Communication, New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc.46.
13.
RogersEverett M. (1962), Diffusion of Innovations, New York: The Free Press, 20–23.
14.
SettleRobert B., FaricyJohn H., and WarrenGlenn T. (1971), “Consumer Information Processing: Attributing Effects to Causes,” in Proceedings of the Association for Consumer Research, GardnerDavid M., ed., 278–288.
15.
SommersMontrose S. (1964), “Product Symbolism and the Perception of Social Strata,” in Toward Scientific Marketing, GreyserStephen A., ed., Chicago: American Marketing Association, 200–216.