Attitude Toward the Ad (Usefulness)

What it measures

A five-item scale measuring the degree to which an advertisement is perceived to deliver useful, relevant, and practically valuable information about the advertised product. Items assess believability of the ad's claims, relevance of the information presented, effectiveness at communicating product benefits and brand image, and the practical utility of the information for consumers. The scale captures the informational value dimension of ad evaluation, distinct from the creative or aesthetic novelty dimension measured by its companion scale.

Response format

Likert (format not specified)

Scale items

• This ad is believable.
• This ad provides relevant information.
• This ad does a good job of presenting the product's benefits.
• This ad does a good job of building the product's image.
• This ad provides practical information.

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

Usage notes & scoring

Two composite reliability estimates: CR = .87 (Study 1) and CR = .90 (Study 2) — Sheinin, Varki & Ashley (2011). A 3-item short version (items 2, 3, and 4) was used in Study 3. VALIDITY: EFA in Study 1 confirmed item loading on a single usefulness factor, distinct from a companion novelty factor. Items draw on prior work by Altsech (1996) and Koslow, Sasser & Riordan (2003). Companion to the Attitude Toward the Ad (Novelty) scale (ATAN) from the same study; the two scales are best used together when examining the independent effects of ad creativity and informativeness.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Sheinin, Daniel A., Sajeev Varki, and Christy Ashley (2011). The differential effect of ad novelty and message usefulness on brand judgments. Journal of Advertising, 40(3), 5–17.

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