Abstract
Companies that develop new products by collaborating with consumers across online and social media channels often communicate about this form of product co-creation through advertising. The author of the current paper used a framework typically used for studying brand alliances to assess the effects of product co-creation advertising. Using a brand-alliance framework, the author analyzed how this messaging is interpreted by consumers who aren't involved in product co-creation and whether a product's complexity affects perceptions about product quality and credibility of the co-creators.