| Chapter 2: | Literature Review |
The impact of ad variation on attitudinal variables has generally been investigated employing the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) which holds that there are two routes to persuasion (Petty & Cacioppo, 1979). The “central route” to persuasion involves cognitive activity in which the message receiver scrutinizes all of the relevant information. In addition, persuasive information can be processed through the central route when the message receiver is motivated to think about the message and has the ability to think about the message.
On the other hand, persuasion can occur by a “peripheral route” in which simple cues, such as source attractiveness or expertise, influence attitude change. A peripheral route is typically used when the message receiver’s motivation or ability to process the issue-relevant information is low. As a result, according to ELM, attitudes changed by the central route are relatively accessible, persistent over time, predictive of behavior, and resistant to change, whereas attitudes changed by the peripheral route tend to be less accessible, less enduring, and less resistant to subsequent messages (Petty & Priester, 1994).
Employing the ELM perspective, Schumann, Petty and Clemons (1990) showed that cosmetically varied ads had a greater impact on attitudes than non-varied ads when the product was of low relevance to the participants while substantively varied ads had a greater impact on attitudes than non-varied ads when the product was of high relevance to the participants. Consistent with the ELM perspective, Haugtvedt, Schumann, Schneider, and Warren (1994) also found that attitudes formed as a result of substantive variation were relatively more resistant to change against counter-argument.
Furthermore, McCullough and Ostrom (1974) found that even slightly varied ads result in higher liking for the product. Overall, existing research suggests that varied ads can yield more positive attitude change than non-varied ads. A similar prediction is possible in the web environment. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed: