Generic Advertising Wearout: The Case of the New York City Fluid Milk Campaign

This article examines two major generic fluid milk advertising campaigns in New York City during the 1986-92 period. Estimates from a time-varying parameter model show that the evolution of the impact of generic advertising on fluid milk sales over each campaign followed a bell-shaped pattern. Results also show that the first cam-paign was effective for twice as long as the second campaign and that it had a higher peak and higher average advertising elasticity. These findings may reflect long-term generic milk advertising wearout in the New York City market. Key words: advertising wearout, generic advertising, milk, time-varying parameter