The Elaboration Likelihood Model and Web-Based Persuasion

Abstract

Discussing Google’s reliance on the AdWord as a major source of revenue, Wired’s Josh McHugh (2004) wrote of the obstacles faced by Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page in the late 1990’s: … the biggest challenge was convincing venture capitalists that Google could actually make money serving up minimalist, fast loading, text-only ads. It was 1998, after all, the heyday of elaborate splash pages and animated, brand-touting banners that danced at the top of every portal...Google didn’t buy in—a stubbornness that proved brilliant. Six years later, those skinny little text-based ads are a huge money maker, accounting for more than $600 million in revenue last year… . (p. 120)