An Empirical Investigation of Advertising Wearin and Wearout

ABSTRACT This paper is one of 18 selected by the Editorial Review Board of The Journal of Advertising Research to be a ‘classic’ - an article that has withstood the test of time. First published in 1987, Blair uses nearly 100 ARS case studies to investigate and discuss the implications of an advertisement9s effectiveness building response in its early exposures and declining later on. She concludes that the selling power of an ad can be measured in the ARS lab at a single point in time with one exposure, that there is no real evidence of wear in (to her definition), but wear out does occur.