"Comparison is the thief of joy" is a real life fact but advertising industry has some other facts. Comparative Advertising has become one of the major part of advertising and in this blog, we will be exploring it in a way which will help you choose if you should use it for your business or not.
Comparative advertising involves presenting a product or service from your business as being superior to a similar product or service from a competitor. In simple terms, it means comparing your product to a rival's product to show why your item is better.
Why Comparative Advertising??
1) Comparisons encourage healthy competition - When you compare your product to those of your competitor, it can create a healthy competition as each firm will try to improve its product and perform better than their competitors.
2) Boosts awareness - Comparative advertising boosts awareness among the customers and they can choose wisely depending upon their needs. Clear and verifiable comparisons help customers to make more informed buying choices.
3) Criticism encourages brands to up their game and innovate, which benefits all consumers.
Some disadvantages:
1) Comparative advertising may bring bad name to both the firms.
2) It can destroy your links with the other firm.
3) Your company may face legal complications if not abide by ASCI rules.
Some brilliant examples of comparative advertisements:
a) PEPSODENT vs COLGATE
I remember, this was the first comparative advertisement I saw on television. It clearly showed that Pepsodent tooth paste was better than Colgate. At that time colgate was the major tooth paste that was found in every house and this advertisement helped shifting a bit of market share by creating awareness among the public.
b) RIN vs TIDE
The advertisement of RIN was clearly based on the pricing. The advertisement clearly showed the pricing of the products of 2 companies and asked the consumers to choose wisely.
c) BURGER KING vs MCDONALDS
This is one of the recent brand war and maybe one of the best till now. Both the firms targeted each other's weak points and made it so interesting that even consumers got emotionally attached. For more info, you can read : BURGER KING VS MCD .
d) PEPSI vs COKE
Pepsi and Coke are close competitors of each other and some people also use them as close substitutes. Since these companies belong to The Coca Cola Company, many cons of comparative advertisements are neglected and both take advantage of the advertisements. Also the campaigns of these are worth to watch.
Types of Comparative advertisements:
1) Direct Comparison - It involves directly targeting the other brand.
2) Indirect Comparison - It involves targeting the brand not directly but through its tagline or brand image.
3) Advertising Parody - It involves humorously imitating something related to the product.
4) Disparaging the Competition - It involves showing a product as disparagingly light or weak in comparison to your good.
Should you choose comparative advertisement for your business:
In the market of perfect competition and monopolistic competition, if your product is well known to the public than you should go for Comparative advertising and target your specific competitor. Otherwise your effort won't be fruitful for your business.
If your product is not well known to the public, start focusing on advertising your product as that is something which should be your preference at that stage.
Also read: how good advertisements look like
Precautions while designing comparative ads:
Make sure that you read all the guidelines of ASCI and adhere to them. All the information provided by you should be correct and if you fail to do so, strict legal actions can be taken against you and the opposition firm can sue you too.
Did you know:
ASCI has prohibited advertisement of alcohol and tobacco products and that is why you never see companies directly advertising these products. ROYAL STAG advertises its music CDs and KINGFISHER advertises its SODA bottles.
Great work!
good read
Very informative 👍🏻
Good Work!
👍👍