Attitude Toward the Ad (Relevance)

What it measures

A four-item, seven-point Likert-type scale measuring the personal relevance and connection a person felt with an advertisement, including the perceived informativeness of the ad content and the imaginative engagement it prompted regarding product ownership or use. Referred to as 'personal engagement' by the authors, the scale captures a blend of cognitive relevance, personal connection, and product-oriented imagination that distinguishes it from purely informational or purely evaluative ad relevance measures. Items were developed by the authors drawing on key terms from prior engagement and relevance measures. Used in a study comparing consumer-generated and company-created advertising, where relevance was a significant predictor of advertising effectiveness.

Response format

7-point Likert (assumed; anchors not explicitly stated in source article)

Scale items

• I connected with this ad.
• The ad highlighted aspects about the product that are good for me to know.
• The ad made me wonder what it would be like to own or use the product/brand.
• The ad message was relevant to me.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

This scale blends personal relevance, cognitive connection, and product imagination in a single instrument, which is theoretically distinct from purer ad relevance measures in the database: Ad Relevance Scale (ID 596, Smith et al.) measures meaningful/appropriate/useful/valuable ad perceptions; Ad Personal Relevance (ID 740, Chen et al.) measures relevance to concerns and needs; Perceived Ad Message Relevance (ID 1005, Andrews & Durvasula) uses a stem-based format. The Lawrence et al. scale's unique items ('I connected with this ad'; 'made me wonder what it would be like to own or use the product/brand') reflect an engagement and imagination dimension absent from the others. This scale is from the same source paper as the Ad Attribute Importance — Executional Quality scale (ID 2155) and the Attitude Toward the Ad (Pleasurable) scale (ID 2177), forming a three-scale suite from the Lawrence et al. (2013) study.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Lawrence, B., Fournier, S., & Brunel, F. (2013). When companies don't make the ad: A multimethod inquiry into the differential effectiveness of consumer-generated advertising. Journal of Advertising, 42(4), 292-307.

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