A Tale of Two Studies: Replicating ‘Advertising Effectiveness and Content Evaluation in Print and on the Web’

ABSTRACT We replicate, using adult web users, a study comparing advertising effectiveness and content evaluation in print and on the web (Gallagher, Foster, and Parsons, 2000). As in the original study involving students, the replication found that advertising was equally effective in the two media. However, while the original study found that evaluation of an article containing advertising was lower when it appeared on the web than when it appeared in print, this result was not replicated. Examination of two subgroups showed that results for the subgroup resembling the student sample were consistent with the original study. We propose conditions under which student samples are appropriate.