Comprehension and Perceived Believability of Seals of Approval Information in Advertising

This paper reports two exploratory studies on how seal of approval source, currentness, and longevity affect consumers' comprehension of seal meaning and how seals in general impact the perceived believability of information contained within advertisements. The results indicate that consumers do not comprehend what seals of approval represent, and in most cases, do not perceive the believability of ad claims to be enhanced by the presence of seals of approval. Implications for researchers, advertisers, and public policy makers are discussed.