Advertising Repetition: A Critical Review of Wearin and Wearout

Abstract In 1988, a joint conference of academics and industry professionals sponsored by the Marketing Science Institute considered the topic, “Evaluating the Effects of Consumer Advertising on Market Position Over Time: How to Tell Whether Advertising Ever Works.” One of the questions raised at this conference was whether there is any benefit at all to advertising. This is indicative of the pessimism that currently exists with regard to the value of advertising. At least one factor that has contributed to this pessimism is the ambiguity in the literature with regard to the value of advertising repetition. The objective of this paper is to critically review this literature so as to resolve much of the ambiguity that surrounds it. It is the thesis of this paper that many of the empirical findings regarding advertising repetition that appear to be contradictory actually are complementary. Generally, where findings appear to be contradictory, the reason is that there are fundamental differences among the studies in terms of the methods and measures used. Hence, by grouping studies according to the methods and measures used, many apparent discrepancies can be resolved.