Jodine,
This part of your statement is important as it relates to comparative advertising:

"However, this is not a prevailing view and the research base shows many
benefits to comparative advertising. In fact, formula companies use
comparative advertising all the time - the classic check-list ads.

There other complexities - for example, people respond differently to the
underdog's comparative ad vs the market leader's ad."

Comparative advertising rarely benefits the underdog, but is very useful when used by the market leader. More importantly, no advertising matters much at all w/o effective PR preceding it to prepare the consumer. In the US at least, PR is the way to sell a product or idea and all of the AIM companies know this--their advertising is completely tied into and dependent upon their PR. I suggest everyone read the book "The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR".
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA (BFA in graphic design--former life in advertising)

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