Comparative Advertising: What Is Comparative Advertising?

Comparative advertising is a type of advertising strategy in which a company markets its goods or services by comparing them to a competitor's brand. A comparative advertising campaign positions a brand's product as superior to a competitor's product. Common examples of comparative advertising include cost comparison, blind taste tests, customer reviews, and side-by-side visual comparisons. This is a common advertsing strategy among automakers, fast food chains, and tech companies.

There are several notable benefits to a comparative ad campaign.

1. 1. Creates brand differentiation: If a company is operating in a market saturated with similar products, a comparative ad campaign can help make a company's product stand out among the crowd. For example, a tech startup could create a comparative ad campaign detailing the specific features of their financing app in comparison to a competitor's app.
2. 2. Builds brand awareness and bolsters customer loyalty: A comparative ad campaign can help create brand awareness by highlighting your product's superior features—especially if a competing product has more market share. In addition, comparative advertising can validate current customers' purchasing decisions, helping build a loyal customer base.
3. 3. Helps influence consumer purchasing decisions: Consumers are not always aware of the purchasing options available to them. Comparative advertising can help consumers make an informed decision over which purchases they choose to make. A company with access to market research could benefit from publishing consumer feedback that casts a positive light on their product versus a competing product.
4. 4. Helps small companies tap into the market share of larger competitors: Including the brand names of larger competitors as part of a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy can be beneficial for smaller companies. With a well-executed SEO content marketing strategy, consumers could stumble on a smaller brand when searching the internet for a competitor.

There are a couple of notable drawbacks to comparative advertising.

1. 1. Can cast your brand in a negative light: When a big company uses a competitive advertising strategy to disparage a small business with less market share than their own, they run the risk of looking like a bully.
2. 2. Requires thorough knowledge of advertising law: In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates the types of comparative claims a company is allowed to make. It is unlawful for a company to make false claims about competing brands. At the federal level, a piece of legislation known as the Lanham Act governs comparative advertising disputes. Each country has its own rules regarding comparative advertising. For example, in the UK it is illegal for a company to use a competitor's trademark.

Consider some tips for using a comparative advertising campaign to promote your business.

1. 1. Ensure that you can back up your advertising claims. According to the FTC, companies using comparative advertising strategies are required to make non-deceptive advertising claims. When running a comparative advertising campaign, ensure that your claims are truthful and do not intend to mislead consumers.
2. 2. Keep it lighthearted. One way to catch consumer attention is to use humor in your comparative marketing campaign. If consumers feel that they are in on the joke rather than part of the punchline, they will likely be more open to receiving the advertisement.
3. 3. Avoid specifics. A comparative ad campaign can accomplish its goals without directly calling out a brand name or specific product. This can be done by partially obscuring a company's trademark or relying on common knowledge of a similar product to make your point.

Learn more about advertising and creativity from Jeff Goodby & Rich Silverstein. Break rules, change minds, and create the best work of your life with the MasterClass Annual Membership.