This study proposes a consumer-centric conceptual framework to assess advertising effectiveness by extending the Brackett and Carr Model (BCM). It explains how informativeness, entertainment, credibility, and irritation, influence perceived advertising value, which ultimately shapes attitudes toward advertisements and then purchase intentions. By integrating behavioral outcomes into the original BCM, the study bridges the gap between consumer perception and action. The framework reflects the shift toward audience-centered advertising and offers theoretical and managerial insights for designing culturally resonant, engaging ads. The model lays the foundation for future empirical validation across diverse media and consumer contexts.
Advertising plays a crucial role in marketing, acting as an effective means to promote or sell products and services (Percy, 2016). Organizations utilize advertisements to enhance consumer awareness, reshape perceptions regarding products, services, or brands (Bambauer-Sachse & Heinzle, 2018), and stimulate purchase intentions (De Mooij, 2018; Mulcahy & Riedel, 2020). However, if the target audience is not properly identified, advertising can become an expensive and inefficient effort. (Pei et al., 2014). Previous studies on advertising techniques and their impact on consumers have largely focused on the importance of the message's content and the strategy used to deliver it, often considering elements such as engagement, motivation, and intentionality. This research indicates that consumers are actively involved with advertisements that match their purchasing needs and react according to whether the ad appeals to their intellect or emotions. However, such research frequently depicted the audience as passive receivers of commercial messages, rather than as active participants in the communication process who interpret, co-create, and extract meaning from advertising interactions. Recent research on the effectiveness of advertising has turned its attention to the changing, interactive bond between audiences and the advertising material they decide to interact with (Puntoni et al. 2004). The change in marketing strategy that happened from advertisers to audiences reflects the increasing interest in consumer culture theory (Arnould & Thompson 2005), brand communities (Andersen 2005), and the service-dominant marketing logic. In today's complex media environment, consumers are not only more informed but also more empowered, making it imperative for advertisers to create messages that resonate on a personal and cultural level. The increasing fragmentation of media and the prevalence of digital platforms have further intensified the challenge, as consumers selectively engage with content that aligns with their identities and values. Consequently, understanding the psychological, social, and cultural underpinnings of consumer responses to advertisements has become central to measuring advertising effectiveness.
Corvi and Bonera (2010) argue that evaluating advertising effectiveness poses inherent challenges, as individual responses to advertisements are shaped not only by the content itself but also by various economic, cultural, sociodemographic, and psychosocial influences. Additionally, advertising outcomes are not always immediate or quantifiable, such as in terms of direct sales figures. The delayed and varied nature of advertising impact further complicates assessment (Corvi and Bonera, 2010). In this regard, Wilcox et al. (2015) emphasize two major perspectives on advertising effectiveness: one views advertising as market power, while the other sees it as a source of information. From the market power viewpoint, advertising elevates consumption levels, enabling firms to capture a larger market share thus making sales volume a key indicator of effectiveness. Conversely, the informational perspective focuses on the role of advertising in educating consumers about a brand and its offerings. To assess advertising effectiveness, Martín-Santana and Beerli-Palacio (2013) proposed three distinct techniques: the cognitive technique, which captures consumer attention and aids recall; the emotional technique, which measures attitudes toward the ad or brand; and the action technique, which assesses behavioral outcomes. The present study seeks to explore consumer-driven determinants that influence advertising effectiveness.
The study of advertising effectiveness has evolved significantly from traditional message-based approaches to more nuanced, consumer-centered frameworks. Early models such as the Hierarchy of Effects (Lavidge & Steiner, 1961) and AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) emphasized linear processing of advertising stimuli. However, as consumer behavior research over the time period matured, scholars began to recognize that consumers are not passive recipients but active processors of advertising content that is targeted towards them. This shift was reinforced by the emergence of consumer culture theory (Arnould & Thompson, 2005), which highlights the sociocultural and psychological influences on how individuals interpret advertising. Contemporary research underscores the significance of variables such as informativeness, entertainment, credibility, and irritation in shaping perceived advertising value (Brackett & Carr, 2001). These attributes affect consumer attitudes and ultimately their behavioral intentions (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Gaber et al., 2019). Moreover, with the rise of digital platforms and fragmented media consumption, advertising effectiveness now requires deeper audience engagement through personalized, credible, and culturally resonant messages (Kim, 2020; Arora & Agarwal, 2019). This evolving landscape highlights the need to move beyond firm-centric metrics like sales volume and consider psychological responses and engagement levels as vital indicators of advertising success (Wilcox et al., 2015; Martín-Santana & Beerli-Palacio, 2013).
Advertising Effectiveness
Advertising functions as a strategic instrument that not only helps retain customer loyalty but also significantly contributes to attracting new clients. A significant portion of advertising is repetitive in nature, with the primary aim of reinforcing existing consumer behaviors by enhancing brand salience and achieving top-of-mind awareness. The effectiveness of advertising has been thoroughly investigated in the literature on advertising and marketing (Lawrence, Fournier, and Brunel 2013).Over the years, it has remained a central focus for both practitioners and scholars in the field. The effectiveness of advertising has been shown to influence key business outcomes such as sales performance and profitability, as well as purchase intentions. Advertising effectiveness is evaluated through various measures, such as consumer perceptions of the advertisement (Fortin and Dholakia 2005), the appeal of the ad, and the overall success of the communication (Eisend, Plagemann, and Sollwedel 2014), all of which are commonly recognized as key indicators of how effective an advertisement is.
The body of research on advertising effectiveness can be divided into three primary theoretical categories. One such model is the stimulus-response approach, highlighted by the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework established by Mehrabian and Russell in 1974. This model proposes that external stimuli influence internal emotional evaluations (organism), which then result in behavioral responses either approach or avoidance. In this model, emotional states serve as mediating variables linking marketing stimuli to behavior that is relevant to sales. The second stream encompasses hierarchical models that outline a sequence of stages consumers go through, from initial exposure to final purchase. Significant models encompass AIDA (attention, interest, desire, and action) and the hierarchy-of-effects model (HoE; Lavidge and Steiner 1961). These models rely on the concept of mind-set variables, which track shifts in consumer attitudes and awareness as they evolve from being unaware to becoming loyal customers, a process essential to generating actual sales (Farris et al. 2010). The third stream involves process models, with the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) by Petty and Cacioppo (1986) being a leading framework. ELM explains attitude formation and change via two primary routes: the central route, which is used when individuals have high cognitive engagement, and the peripheral route, which is employed when processing ability or motivation is low.
Core elements of advertising effectiveness
Key elements that affect the success of advertising include the perception of the advertisement and brand, the consumer's intentions whether to purchase or not, and ultimately their actual behavior (Lewinski et al., 2014), as well as their ability to recall the advertisement. Contemporary studies have emphasized that attitudes toward advertisements are closely linked to advertising effectiveness, as attitude serves as a precursor to behavior (Ling al., 2010; Ting and de Run, 2015). An individual's attitude toward an object encompasses both cognitive and emotional evaluations and acts as a predictor of behavioral intention. Moreover, behavioral intention indicates the extent to which an individual is inclined to engage in a specific behavior. Tan and Chia (2007) argue that beliefs significantly impact the development of attitudes towards advertising, as changes in perceptions regarding advertisements can trigger a change in attitude, which subsequently influences purchasing intentions (Shook and Bratianu, 2010; Wang, Sun, Lei and Toncar, 2009). In essence, when a person has a favorable belief about the anticipated result, their chances of engaging in a particular behavior increase (Ting and de Run, 2015).
Informativeness- Informativeness denotes the capacity of an advertisement to deliver comprehensive and timely information to its intended audience regarding the promoted product. Prior research in advertising has consistently demonstrated that the informativeness of advertisements (Aziza and Astuti 2019; Yang et al. 2017; Hamouda 2018; Nabila and Achyar 2020), across different contexts, plays a vital role in assisting consumers in assessing the advertised offerings, thereby significantly enhancing the perceived value of the advertisement (Firat 2019; Arora and Agarwal 2019; Kim 2020; Sari, Suziana, and Games 2020).
Credibility- Credibility refers to the amount of truthfulness and reliability that is associated with the claims presented in an advertisement for a product (Gaber, Wright, and Kooli 2019). In simpler terms, it reflects how trustworthy the advertisement appears to its audience. Prior studies in advertising have repeatedly, shown that credibility, across diverse contexts, plays a crucial role in elevating the evaluated worth of an advertisement. (Arora and Agarwal 2019; Ying et al. 2020).
Entertainment- Entertainment as discussed by (Uparimart 2018; Firat 2019;Aziza and Astuti 2019) the extent to which an advertisement's content is entertaining, humorous, and captivating influences viewers to watch it completely (Gaber, Wright, and Kooli 2019). Previous studies in advertising suggest that the entertainment component of an advertisement, regardless of the setting, helps consumers evaluate the advertised product and plays a crucial role in boosting its perceived worth.
Irritation- Irritation in advertising denotes the sense of annoyance that disrupts the intended message of the advertisement. When consumers encounter such advertising messages, they may feel bothered and choose to disregard them (Altuna & Konuk, 2009). This reaction typically arises when advertisers employ strategies that are intrusive, offensive, or overly manipulative. Consequently, consumers perceive these ads as unpleasant and aggravating (Ducoffe, 1996). Irritation remains a prominent concern in the field of advertising. Due to such irritation, the effectiveness of the promotional content may decline, leading consumers to respond negatively to the advertisement as they view the irrelevant and distracting information as an invasion of their personal space, potentially causing confusion and frustration with the message.
Perceived Advertising Value- Perceived advertising value refers to the usefulness or significance that a customer attributes to an advertisement (Ying et al. 2020). Essentially, it represents the viewer’s personal assessment of the total value offered by the advertisement. This perception is closely tied to how well the target audience accepts the ad, primarily depends on its perceived utility (Lu, Wu, and Hsiao 2019). As a result, it can positively influence the likelihood of purchasing the advertised product. Various studies have shown that stronger purchase intentions stemming from advertising value serve as key points of its overall effectiveness (Aziza and Astuti 2019). The value that one perceives in an advertisement is affected by various factors, such as entertainment, informativeness, credibility, and individual significance (Gaber, Wright, and Kooli 2019).
Attitude towards ad- An attitude is a person's acquired inclination to react towards and ad or a stimulus in a positive or negative way (Jalilvand et al. 2012; Casalo, Flavian, and Guinalıu 2011). It conveys a person’s emotional orientation, indicating whether they hold a favorable or unfavorable disposition toward a particular ‘object’ or ‘stimulus’. The Brackett and Carr Model (BCM) introduced by Brackett and Carr (2001) highlights, perceived value derived from online advertisements significantly influences consumers’ attitudes toward advertising. Ducoffe (1996) also found that the value that is obtained from internet-based advertisement are crucial in shaping attitudes. Supporting this, Ying et al. (2020) demonstrated that when consumers perceive greater value in social media ads, they have more favorable attitudes. In the domain of mobile advertising, extant research indicates that an elevated perceived value correlates with more favorable attitudes toward advertisements (Kim 2020). Similar conclusions were drawn by Hamouda (2018) and Shareef et al. (2019) in relation to advertising on the Facebook platform.
Purchase intention- Purchase intention simply means the likelihood that consumers will contemplate or exhibit, a propensity to acquire a particular product or service in the imminent future (Wu, Yeh, & Hsiao, 2011). Earlier review of literaure indicates, that an increase in purchase intention is linked to a greater chance of actual buying behavior. When customers show high intentions to buy, it increases the likelihood that their interaction with the brand will result in a real purchase.
This study employs the Brackett and Carr Model (BCM) as the main theoretical framework that outline the conceptual relationships among the study's constructs. According to BCM model, various elements of advertising that is informativeness, entertainment, perceived relevance, and credibility, impact how an advertisement is valued by consumer, which plays ,a crucial role in shaping consumer attitudes and their intentions to purchase or not. (Brackett and Carr 2001). Essentially, this model clarifies, how consumer perceptions of advertisements are molded by critical antecedents that dictate the perceived advertising value. The selection or choosing of BCM as the theoretical basis is supported by the current review of literature, which identifies it as a more sophisticated and all-encompassing model of advertising value compared to earlier frameworks, such as Ducoffe (1996). Additionally, this model describes greater explanatory capability in evaluating advertising effectiveness than its predecessors (Brackett and Carr 2001;
Arora and Agarwal 2019).According to the BCM, the perceived value of advertising is influenced or affected by key factors such as informativeness, entertainment, credibility, and perceived relevance, which results in shaping consumer attitudes and their intentions to purchase (Nabila and Achyar 2020; Aktan et al. 2016; Arora and Agarwal 2020).
In accordance with the BCM framework, "attitude towards advertising" is conceptualized as a resultant effect of the perceived advertising value that is discerned by the audience, which is modulated by variables such as informativeness, entertainment, irritation, and credibility (Gaber, Wright, and Kooli 2019). While the accepted notion that perceived advertising value influences attitude is acknowledged, it falls short in fully explaining the factors that contribute to advertising success. However, an advertisement is deemed effective only if it successfully influences purchasing intentions (Firat 2019; Aslam 2020). Therefore, this research incorporates purchase intention as a direct outcome of attitudes toward advertising, given that attitudes have been empirically shown to predict intentions (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975). This inclusion significantly enhances the model's ability to explain advertising effectiveness from consumer perspective using informativeness, entertainment, credibility and irriation as an antecedent.
This study discussed to the literature on advertising effectiveness, by proposing a consumer-centric conceptual framework grounded in the Brackett and Carr Model (BCM). By identifying and examining key antecedents—informativeness, credibility, entertainment, and irritation the study reaffirms their influence on perceived advertising value, which subsequently shapes attitude toward the advertisement, and purchase intention. Extending the original BCM by incorporating purchase intention as an outcome variable enhances the model’s explanatory power and addresses a critical gap in prior frameworks that overlooked the behavioral implications of advertising value. The proposed framework acknowledges the shift in advertising research from firm-centric to audience-centric paradigms, emphasizing that consumers are not passive recipients but active interpreters of advertising content. In doing so, this study offers theoretical clarity and practical relevance for advertisers seeking to optimize campaign effectiveness by aligning message content with the psychological and affective responses of target audiences.
Theoretical Implications
This study advances advertising theory by extending the Brackett and Carr Model (BCM) through the integration of purchase intention as a consequential outcome of attitude toward advertisements. While the original BCM model emphasizes the role of informativeness, entertainment, credibility, and perceived relevance in shaping perceived advertising value, this study reinforces the idea that perceived value is not only an attitudinal antecedent but also a behavioral precursor. By incorporating purchase intention, the model captures a more complete consumer decision-making pathway, bridging the gap between affective response and actual consumer behavior. Additionally, the study aligns with the broader theoretical shift from a firm-centric to a consumer-centric paradigm in advertising research, underscoring the active interpretive role of consumers in the communication process. It contributes to the literature by situating advertising effectiveness within a holistic framework that reflects psychological, emotional, and informational drivers, offering deeper insight into how value perceptions shape behavioral outcomes in diverse advertising contexts.
Managerial Implications
This study's results provide important insights for advertisers and marketing professionals looking to enhance the effectiveness of their campaigns in a consumer-focused environment. By emphasizing informativeness, irritation, credibility, entertainment and as primary factors influencing perceived advertising value, marketers can design advertisements that better connect with their intended audiences. Understanding that perceived value shapes consumer attitudes and ultimately, purchase intentions—underscores the need for designing ads that are not only engaging and trustworthy but also relevant and non-intrusive. Managers should ensure their advertising content delivers clear, accurate information while maintaining a balance between creativity and authenticity to build long-term consumer trust. Furthermore, incorporating emotional appeal without triggering irritation is essential for maintaining positive brand associations. The extended framework also encourages advertisers to track attitudinal shifts as early indicators of purchasing behavior, enabling more accurate performance evaluations. Overall, aligning messaging strategies with consumer perceptions can significantly enhance return on advertising investment.
Limitations and future research
First, the framework is developed based primarily on a review and synthesis of existing literature, which may limit its empirical generalizability. Although the Brackett and Carr Model (BCM) provides a robust theoretical foundation, the proposed relationships remain conceptual and require empirical validation across diverse contexts, media platforms, and product categories. In future research, quantitative techniques like Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) could be utilized to empirically evaluate the suggested hypotheses and determine the strength and direction of the relationships between constructs. Second, the current framework considers perceived advertising value as a unidimensional construct. However, advertising value may be multidimensional in nature, encompassing functional, emotional, and social dimensions, which may differently affect consumer responses. Future research could refine this construct and examine its sub-dimensions to offer a more nuanced understanding of how consumers evaluate advertisements.
Third, this study focuses primarily on four antecedents—informativeness, credibility, entertainment, and irritation—excluding other potentially influential variables such as personalization, interactivity, emotional appeal, and cultural congruence. Future research could explore the role of these variables, especially in the context of evolving digital advertising formats such as influencer marketing, programmatic advertising, and immersive technologies (e.g., AR/VR). Fourth, while attitude toward the advertisement and purchase intention have been included as outcome variables, actual purchase behavior has not been considered due to the limitations in conceptual reach. Longitudinal or experimental studies that trace the journey from ad exposure to actual purchasing behavior would offer more holistic insights into advertising effectiveness. Finally, the proposed framework does not account for individual differences such as age, gender, cultural background, and psychographic traits that may moderate the relationships among the key constructs. Future research could incorporate these moderating variables to enhance the model’s applicability across demographic and geographic segments. In sum, future empirical investigations grounded in this conceptual model can enrich our theoretical understanding of advertising effectiveness and guide practitioners in designing consumer-responsive advertising strategies across platforms and markets.