Summary
This Knowledge Point article states that comparative advertising can be effective even when it does not disclose the name of a specific competitor. However, caution should be taken before employing a comparative ad strategy. There are some common pitfalls that can introduce risk to the advertised brand.

Summary
In this paper, the effects of positive versus negative (political) advertising are modelled. The findings show that positive as well as two different types of negative advertising will lead viewers to formulate specific attitudes towards the brand (sponsor). However, the manner in which these attitudes are formed will be affected by ad type and argument strength. It was found that under strong message argument conditions, negative attack ads may lead to more positive evaluations of the sponsoring candidate, whereas under weak message argument conditions, direct comparison ads may be superior. In developing this model to include the effects of negative appeals, the traditional Dual Mediation Model of persuasion is redefined. The author demonstrates that a peripheral cue (attitude towards the ad) can have an impact on the central route to persuasion by fostering message acceptance not only in regard to the sponsor of the advertisement but also in regard to a competitor. The resultant Tri-Mediation Model of persuasion provides significant insights into the nature of cognitive processing resulting from exposure to negative advertising.

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In this article, FTC chair Deborah Platt Majoras addresses the major issues affecting the U.S. advertising industry. These include the FTC's priorities against deceptive health claims and mortgage advertising, and its potential course of action against spam and spyware. She also discusses advertising self-regulation, food advertising and the use of violence in ads for TV programmes, computers games and movies.

Summary
After many years of being legally banned, comparative advertising has recently been permitted in Germany. So far, advertising practitioners and researchers have neither reached a consensus on its effectiveness nor on its usefulness for corporate communications. While findings from the U.S. literature suggest that comparative advertising can be effective in several contexts in the United States, there has been a lack of research on whether comparative advertising can be effective in Germany. Because of cultural factors, it should not be automatically concluded that comparative advertisements will be effective in Germany. The authors explore the effectiveness of comparative advertising in Germany by analyzing two separate campaigns, one that theoretically lends itself to effective comparative advertising and one that does not. A general theory that makes predictions about the effectiveness of comparative advertising is proposed and tested. While an analysis of two campaigns is not sufficient to establish the generalized efficacy of comparative advertising in Germany, the results clearly support the idea that comparative advertising can be effective in some contexts in Germany. However, as predicted by our theory, there are other conditions under which comparative advertising is not effective.

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In this article, James Dyson argues and vividly illustrates the case for greater recognition in Britain for inventors and engineers. The country is not producing nearly enough engineering graduates and will suffer for it in the future: its prospects are contrasted with what is happening in China, India, Japan, France and even Chile and Switzerland. British engineers are among the lowest paid, rarely sit on boards, and, when they seek finance to invent a new product or start a new business, they are too often refused. Relying on growth in service industries will not save us if we fail to invest in R&D, since the emerging economies will soon develop their own designing capacities close to where the factories are sited. New ideas need nurturing, sometimes against market research evidence (since research can never tell how people will react to the new idea when they see it): examples include the Sony Walkman and the Mini. Advertising should tell the truth about products: regulators should prevent ads presenting qualities the product does not have. Comparative ads are good, if truthful, since they enable people to understand the technical differences between products: but some countries do not allow them.

Summary
This article on negative and comparative advertising asks the question 'does it work?' The author explains that this form of advertising emanated from U.S. political advertising. The paper describes three types of reaction to negative advertising:-counter argument, source derogation and support argument. It is argued that negative ads are more newsworthy and generate more PR than positive advertising. The author questions whether the model can be applied to commercial ads and found that the same cognitive model applies. He debates the issues of trust and cynicism in various markets:- financial services, cars, and airlines. He raises the question of how advertisers should react if they are the victims of negative advertising. Should they fight back? This may not be the best response. The author recommends both qualitative and quantitative research before any response is taken.

Summary
Despite the popularity of comparative advertising (CA) over the past three decades, few studies have explored how to develop this strategy outside the USA. This study reports the results of experiments conducted in South Korea, a country where CA has rarely been used. Two hundred Korean college students were exposed to fictitious advertisements in which the independent variable of comparison intensity (non-comparative/low/medium/ high/increasing) and exposure sequence (first/second/third) were manipulated. The dependent variables of attitude towards the brand and purchase interest assessed advertising effectiveness. Results suggest that the effectiveness of comparative advertising in Korea is improved by increasing the intensity of comparison gradually from indirect (low) to direct (high) over time.

Summary
A primary goal of sports marketers in to engender fan identification with a team and/or its athletes. Previos research has shown that identification appears most likely when fans perceive a personal sense of similarity with a team or its athletes. The present study investigates a unique attitudinal dimension along which fans identify with teams and athletes-the old school-new school dimension. In this study, the authorsdelve into the meaning of the old school versus new school ideology, explore the various elemental components of the concept, and develop a valid and reliable scale to measure old-school orientation among today's sports fans. The Old School Scale developed in this study can be used to match celerity athlete endorsers to target segments and, hence, create advertisements that are more effective.

Summary
The author discusses the role of the National Advertising Division (part of NARC, the advertising industry's self-regulatory body in the USA) - this is mainly to police competitive claims for truth and accuracy. In order to assist advertisers in checking precedents, the NAD has made available a database on CD of all previous cases.

Summary
An advertising lawyer shows how comparative advertising restrictions vary internationally and are changing in the UK. There is tension in the Anglo-Saxon view of comparative advertising as a pro-competitive tool and the continental view of it as a practice inimical to consumer protection. In the UK comparative advertising flourished in the late 1990s as a direct result of the Trade Marks Act 1994. Cases serving as examples: Barclays Bank v RBS Advanta, Vodafone Group v Orange Personal Communications Services Limited, BT and AT&T as well as Cable & Wireless, Emaco and Dyson vacuum cleaner manufacturers, IPC Magazines Limited v MGN Limited (1998), Kimberly Clark Limited v Fort Stirling Limited. It is envisaged that the EU's Comparative Advertising Directive 97/55/EC will clash with the regulations laid down by the UK's Trade Marks Act and, furthermore, not achieve its aim of harmonisation across the EU.