Submitted to : Sir Jam JavedSubmitted by: Amna, Maheen, Ramiya

Comparative advertising is defined as advertising that compares alternative brands on objectively measurable attributes or price, and identifies the alternative brand by name, illustration or other distinctive information.

It’s Promotional technique in which an advertiser claims the superiority of its product over competing product(s) by direct or indirect comparison.

Contrast ads Negative ads Attack ads Knocking copy

Provides more information about brands, available

products, and prices to the marketplace, i.e., provides consumer education .

Helps a challenger who may have an unknown position in the marketplace to "grab a niche" close to a well-known and respected brand

Reduces the confusion among audiences about what attributes are important .

Forces marketers to improve the quality of their products and is also an effective strategy to reduce market entry barriers

Is a viable strategy for "underdogs" and slow-growth industries

Generates message and brand awareness Increases purchase intentions and purchase

behavior Generates favorable sponsored brand

attitudes Draws attention to message content Elicits high levels of message involvement Encourages extensive message elaboration

Open media warfare may boomerang and escalate

Generates too much information, i.e., irrelevant noise and misinformation to the consumer

May create brand name confusion on the part of the audience

May decrease rather than enhance believability and credibility for the sponsor brand

May generate more negative attitudes in the consumer than the more traditional ads

Everyone has freedom of speech but special restraint is needed in commercial speech including advertising. An advertisement is called deceptive when it misleads people, alters the reality and affects buying behavior.

Deception exists when an advertisement is introduced into the perceptual process of the audience in such a way that the output of that perceptual process differs from the reality of the situation.

These include the following

Violates consumers right to information Violates consumers right to safety Violates consumers right to choice Advertisements directed at children Puffery Advertising of harmful products

Comparative can be very productive and healthy if used in a proper and legal way.

So it should not be banned just because some companies are taking undue advantage of it and throwing mud on rival companies

The solution is to restrict advertising and make laws which protect the rights of competitor company .

Use of anybody else's trademark in any advertisement becomes an illegal act if it affects the reputation and goodwill of the trademark.

Additionally comparative advertising can also lead to disparagement of goods.

Disparagement of goods is as such not defined in the statute but it can be understood as an untrue or misleading statement about a competitor's goods made with the purpose of persuading consumers not to buy the product. Such acts can attract serious legal liabilities.

The producer must only make honest representation in the ads;

The ads must not be offensive in any way to the general public;

Ads must not be used for the promotions of products, hazardous or harmful to society or to individuals particularly minors, to a degree unacceptable to society at large;

Ads must not in any way hamper competition.

The trouble begins when competitive advertising gets into outright comparative territory, which can be perceived as putting down the other brand. This is most often seen in price sensitive categories, where price can be used as an advantage or in a crowded product category, where even the slightest advantage needs to be tommed in order to get the consumer’s attention, and presented in a quick, easy to digest format for the consumer to assimilate without too much trouble.

Comparative advertising is not used solely for the promotion of a product or service. It has become a common technique used in political advertisements, with one candidate listing how he or she would not have made the same specific decisions as the incumbent if elected. This type of advertising is popular with companies releasing new products, as the focus of the ad will be how the new product is better than products already on the market.