15.39 Repeating an advertising message.
Does repetition of an advertising message increase its effectiveness? One theory suggests that there are two phases in the process. In the first phase, called “wearin,” negative or unfamiliar views are transformed into positive views. In the second phase, called “wearout,” the effectiveness of the ad is decreased because of boredom or other causes. One study designed to investigate this theory examined two factors. The first was familiarity of the ad, with two levels, familiar and unfamiliar; the second was repetition, with three levels, 1, 2, and 3.16 One of the response variables collected was attitude toward the ad. This variable was the average of four items, each measured on a 7-point scale, anchored by bad–good, low quality–high quality, unappealing–appealing, and unpleasant–pleasant. Here are the means for attitude:
| Repetition | |||
| Familiarity | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Familiar | 4.56 | 4.73 | 5.24 |
| Unfamiliar | 4.14 | 5.26 | 4.41 |
15.39
(a) For those familiar with the ad, as repetition increased, attitude also generally increased. For those unfamiliar with the ad, we see the “wearin” and “wearout” effects. At level 1 repetition, the attitude was the lowest of any combination, but once we moved to repetition level 2, the “wearin” effect drastically improved the attitude. Lastly, after moving to repetition level 3, the “wearout” effect drastically decreased the attitude, although it still scored higher than the original attitude at repetition level 1. (b) Yes, there appears to be an interaction effect, as described in part (a).