AD SIZE AS AN INDICATOR OF PERCEIVED ADVERTISING COSTS AND EFFORT - THE EFFECTS ON MEMORY AND PERCEPTIONS

In support of past research, ad size was found to lead to enhanced mem ory; but the existence of an ''interference effect'' (i.e., when incre ased attention aimed at the relatively large ad interferes with proces sing of surrounding ads) was not confirmed. Replicating Kirmani (1990) , analyses suggest that consumers use ad size as an indicator of adver tising costs and effort and that consumers make quality-related infere nces based on their perceptions of advertising costs when quality-rela ted information is not explicitly conveyed in an ad. Evidence of an in verted U-shaped relationship between perceived advertising costs and b rand perceptions was found for quality perceptions. That is, perceptio ns are positively related to perceived advertising costs except at exc essive levels when consumers may feel advertising is manipulative. The data also support the notion that perceived advertising effort mediat ed this relationship. The nature of these relationships between percei ved advertising costs and consumer perceptions differed across the var ious perception measures.