Consumer skepticism, advertising regulation, and the internet: Questions worth exploring

Since 1990, the US advertising, regulatory, and consumer information landscapes have changed materially, raising the possibility that consumers' fundamental beliefs about advertising as an activity or institution have also changed. Nine national polls of advertising sentiment, fielded between 1964 and 1989 by the Roper Organization or the Opinion Research Corporation, were replicated with panel members matched to the US adult population. Preliminary results suggest that the internet era may have fostered a trust-because-we-can-verify consumer attitude toward advertising. The internet has changed the consumer information landscape by reducing the difficulty of assessing claims, fostering independent evaluators who often include competitors, and providing a venue for consumer retaliation. The implications for advertising regulation may contradict the Pertschuk view (1982) of regulation again embraced by some at the Federal Trade Commission. Rather than enhancing the need for advertising regulation and enforcement, the internet may have reduced the need for such efforts.