Doceatur Emptor.

The paper generally deals with the application of two-sided persuasive communication to advertising. Credibility of advertising and consumer response to present advertising practice is discussed. Theoretical considerations include expectancy theory and cognitive dissonance. Situations for which one-sided arguments are set forth, the paper includes a review of empirical research, primarily in social psychology, dealing with two-sided mass communication relevant to advertising. Credibility of the two-sided argument is discussed. The two-sided persuasive argument is proposed as a solution to the problem of increasing consumer cynicism toward advertising and as a means of enhancing the informative value of advertising communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]