Consumer perceptions of product‐claim versus help‐seeking direct‐to‐consumer advertising

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to better understand the effectiveness of direct‐to‐consumer advertising (DTCA) by examining consumer perceptions of persuasive intent and informativeness associated with product‐claim and help‐seeking advertisements, respectively.Design/methodology/approachIn three behavioral experiments, a total of 413 participants provided data on their behavioral intentions and attitudes towards DTCA.FindingsConsumers perceived help‐seeking DTCA as being highly informative without persuasive intent, whereas they perceived product‐claim DTCA as having high‐persuasive intent with little informativeness. Help‐seeking (versus product‐claim) DTCA was more effective in generating stronger behavioral intention to seek treatment for the ailments advertised (i.e. clinical depression and migraine). Consumer perceptions of persuasive intent and informativeness of DTCA were the underlying mediators for this result.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper helps to resolve conflicting findings in the previous DTCA research by proposing and presenting evidence which suggests that the perceived persuasive intent and informativeness of the advertised message are two underlying constructs that drive DTCA effectiveness. Considering these two constructs in future research may provide a deeper understanding of how and why DTCA effectiveness varies across different types of DTCA.Practical implicationsThe results provide useful information for pharmaceutical companies seeking to maximize DTCA effectiveness in increasing behavioral intention to seek treatment for an advertised disease. Considering the key findings, pharmaceutical companies may decide whether and to what extent to employ product‐claim or help‐seeing DTCA.Originality/valueThe paper is one of the first to comparatively examine consumer perceptions of the two different types of DTCA (product‐claim versus help‐seeking) in terms of their influence on behavioral intent to seek treatment for the advertised medical conditions.