The Information Content of Advertising: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The amount of information contained in advertising is an important issue to scholars, critics, and users of advertising. Almost 60 studies have used a procedure introduced in 1977 by Resnik and Stern to measure the information content of advertising. The results, reported in a wide variety of outlets, are conflicting. Metaanalysis of that literature helps to (1) develop norms for information levels and research procedures, (2) reveal systematic sources of variation in reported information levels across studies, and (3) identify areas that have been examined in depth and call attention to other areas that warrant further research. Because study findings are found to depend on several method factors, controlling for the effects of those factors through the meta-analysis procedure helps to clarify how media type, country economic development, and product durability influence measured information levels.