This study advanced the understanding of consumers’ attitudes toward Internet advertising and the effects of attitudes on a brand, attitudes toward a website, and behavioral intention. Automobile dealers that do not understand the persuasive nature of text messages placed on their websites may not be creating the most effective websites possible (Pariera, 2009; Blanco, Sarasa, & Sanclemente, 2010). The study was conducted using an online research panel of 176 high-earning (upper quintile of household income in the United States), United States citizens, facilitated though a Survey Monkey survey. The first part of the survey evaluated attitudes towards Internet advertising in general. Two groups were created, one with positive attitudes towards Internet advertising and one with less positive attitudes. Participants were then presented with a website that contains either instrumental or symbolic text. The mocked up automotive websites were identical in design. A survey then followed that asked the participants’ attitude toward the site, attitude toward the brand, and behavioral intention. In analysis, symbolic and instrumental website text groups were analyzed to see which group has more positive attitudes toward the site, positive attitude toward the brand, and the strongest behavioral intention. Using a three-way multivariate analysis of variance, positive and less positive Internet advertising attitude groups were examined for which website text leads to a more positive response. The results indicate that instrumental website messages yield more positive responses in most cases in the research sample. Further research could be conducted using this same model to see if different products or demographics yield similar results.
