Advertising repetition and quality perception

Nelson [J. Polit. Econ. 78 (1970) 311; J. Polit. Econ. 81 (1974) 729; Nelson P. The economic value of advertising. In: Brozen Y, editor. Advertising and society. New York: New York Univ. Press, 1974. pp. 43-66] has argued that advertising spending is a signal of product quality for experience goods because consumers can rationally infer that high-quality products would advertise more than low-quality products. In this paper, we compare Nelson's view of advertising with marketing views of advertising using ad repetition as a surrogate for ad spending. Our results show limited support for Nelson's theory but substantial support for ad repetition influencing perceived quality through attitude toward the ad.