The Impact of Message Sidedness on Online Ads Effectivenss: The Moderating Role of Involvement

This study considers the moderating effect of involvement on consumers´ response to one-sided vs. two-sided online advertising. Results obtained from an experimental study confirm that involved consumers´ responses to two-sided online ads are more favorable than that of one-sided online ad, but only for involved consumers. Two-sided ad is no more persuasive for uninvolved consumers except for those who recognize the two-sided nature of the communication. The routes to persuasion of two-sided ads are also different for involved and uninvolved consumers. These findings provide a new economical way for enterprises to improve their online advertising effectiveness in the absence of trust nowadays.