COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING'S DILEMMA: HOW TO ATTACK THE COMPETITION WITHOUT ALIENATING HIS CUSTOMER Available to Purchase

Although many advertisers are reluctant to use Comparative Advertising, it is obviously increasing in popularity. One difficulty with comparative advertising is that the intended buyers may perceive it as threatening their self‐image because they view the comparison as an attack on their presently preferred brand. The purpose in writing this paper is to recognize and discuss this potential problem and to show how comparative advertisements may be structured to support the customers' previous decisions while inducing them to switch.