The Pros and Cons of Comparative Advertising

Comparative advertising, to put it simply, is the process of comparing two or more brands. The primary purpose of comparative advertising is to communicate value, which is frequently accomplished by demonstrating how one brand outperforms a competitor or a group of companies.
You've probably seen advertisements that make comparisons at some point in your life. Remember the early 2000s commercials pitting Macs against PCs? "The cool, calm, collected guy in a hoodie" represented Mac, whereas "the nerdy, awkward guy in the suit" represented PC.

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Table of Contents
Comparative Advertising examples
Comparative Ads: Pros and Cons
 

1. Comparative Advertising Examples-

• Popeyes

Popeyes capitalized on this as an American fast-food restaurant, foregoing television advertising in favor of a comparison advertisement, which enabled them to gain an unexpected and massively successful spicy chicken business. Popeyes stopped selling and refilled its stocks after the Twitter war over its chicken sandwich. When they returned, they abandoned TV advertising in favor of digital advertising, i.e. competitive advertising. They were well aware of Chick-fil-strategy A's and were able to significantly increase sales on Sundays. They used next-generation AI-powered social analytics to keep track of their progress in real-time.

• Adidas

Adidas, a German multinational sportswear firm, is the only notable sports apparel brand that has outperformed Nike. How did they pull it off? They jumped into comparison marketing and quickly produced a video commercial in the desert with a runner wearing Nike sneakers. Runners are well known that running on such terrains is difficult. Because the videographer was wearing Adidas sneakers, he was able to keep up with the runner carrying a hefty camera.

• Sprint

Sprint, Verizon's main competitor, contacted the actor in 2016 and persuaded him to switch to their service in order to participate in comparison advertising. Sprint highlighted a Verizon actor who worked for the company for 16 years in marketing and promotion. They aimed their message at the audience, claiming that if a committed Verizon actor can switch to Sprint, why can't you? What's keeping you from making the switch? According to the cellular carrier, their cell phone service has a percent coverage differential. Sprint was positioned as a better-qualified rival than Verizon as a result of such comment.

• Bounty

Bounty demonstrated the advantages of using their brand's paper towels over generic brand paper towels without mentioning their opponent. Rather than persuade potential customers of the product's quality, they used comparison advertising, claiming that regular towels do not clean up messes as well as Bounty towels. In this approach, they can claim that they offer superior items rather than those that do not clean up the waste.
 

2. Comparative Ads: Pros and Cons-

Here are a few things to think about to help you decide if it's a path worth taking.
 

Pros

• Your brand can be attractive. One method to approach comparative advertising is to take advantage of your competitor's flaws — as long as you explain how you do it better. Samsung, for example, went all-in on its "Next Big Thing" campaign, effectively highlighting the latest phone's advantages over the new (at the time) Apple iPhone — including larger screen size, better service, and no lineups.
• Your brand's visibility can be increased. There's no denying that competitive advertising can get people's attention. Especially if your brand isn't well-known and you're comparing it to a more well-known brand. A classic technique for comparative advertising is to use the market share of a well-known brand to draw attention to your own.
• You can increase the number of people who follow or buy from your brand. Of course, the ultimate purpose of advertising is to improve sales or conversions, and comparisons are just another tool for doing so. Comparative commercials, when correctly produced, can not only reinforce positive associations for existing consumers but also persuade customers from your competitors to consider switching.

 

Cons-

• It's possible that your brand will appear to be untrustworthy. Comparative advertising, on the other hand, can backfire. If the commercial is negatively received, it might tarnish your brand's image or make you appear needy for attention. Bud Light, for example, ran a comparative campaign against its competitors, highlighting the use of corn syrup by others. It turned out that it didn't strike a chord with anyone.
• Customers may abandon your brand. Another danger of using comparisons in marketing is that it may drive people away. If your message is too off-putting, your audience may look for alternative alternatives and forsake your business.
• Legal action against your brand is a possibility. It's a worst-case scenario, but going too far with your advertisements could land you in legal trouble. If you wish to compare your brand to competitors, make sure your legal team double-checks everything before going live.

 
 
 
  When genuine and non-deceptive, comparative advertising provides valuable information to consumers and aids them in making logical buying decisions. Comparative advertising fosters product development and innovation, as well as reduced market prices.