Competing cues in brand alliance advertisements

Anecdotal evidence suggests that a new trend in brand alliance advertising is to include an attention-grabbing cue such as a sex appeal or a celebrity endorsement in the same ad as a brand alliance cue. This trend has received scant attention in the literature. Integrating consumer learning theory and the brand information processing framework, we argue that the attention-grabbing cue competes with the brand alliance cue. Three studies demonstrate that the presence of strong cues such as sex appeals or celebrity endorsers reduces the effect of a brand alliance cue. Stronger cues increase ad liking but distract viewers’ attention from the brand alliance cue. The findings suggest that using sex appeals or celebrity endorsers can interfere with the brand ally assisting customers in evaluating the focal brand. Thus, in the case of brand alliance advertising, “the more, the better” is not always true.