Abstract

Comparative advertisements are rarely seen on domestic TV channels. Yet whenever such a commercial appeared, it drew tremendous attention from the society. Its importance can't be overlooked. Due to the fact that past studies couldn't fully support the effectiveness of comparative advertising, the current study doesn't follow previous ones in using experimental design approach. Instead, a real-world TV commercial for a famous detergent was chosen as the testing target. Using LISREL analyses, differences of the hierarchical effects of brand cognition (Cb)---attitude toward the brand (Ab)---purchase intention (I) were compared between those who had seen and those who hadn't seen the commercial. In addition, consumers' product involvement and thinking/feeling were employed as moderating variables. Our research findings are that for those who had seen the commercial, their attitude toward the brand has a significant impact on purchase intention. The hierarchical effects for this group also enjoys higher GFI. The same is not true for those who hadn't seen the commercial. Furthermore, this group has formed negative attitude toward the ad (Aad). No significant differences are found for ad cognition, attitude toward the ad, brand cognition, attitude toward the brand and purchase intention among different levels of consumers' product involvement, thinking/feeling and their combinations.