Rational philosophies

Argument approach - "advertising is "salesmanship in print"" - to communicate performance benefits over the competition
Problem-solution or "product-is-hero" approach
Unique-selling proposition (USP) - The USP school argues that advertisers must offer strong, unique and relevant benefits to be successful
Preemptive approach - in which an advertiser extols a benefit common to others in its class (Frazer 1983), such as P&G's claims about the power of Head & Shoulders shampoo to fight dandruff. The key element is being first in the claim, so rivals then are forced to make "metoo" claims or find other benefits to extol. Its most widespread use is among advertisers of homogeneous goods and services.
The positioning philosophy gives a clear and concise idea of where the advertiser lies relative to rivals in the mind of buyers (Ries and Trout 1981). The relationship to competition is the most important defining characteristic (Frazer 1983). Classic examples have been Avis, with its being #2 and "trying harder" campaign and Pepsi's taste challenge to Coke. The approach is particularly valuable for new entrants in a market or for those with market shares that closely follow market leaders. However, it also helps if the market is relatively sophisticated in terms of market orientation. The strength of the positioning philosophy is that it limits the retaliatory options of the named or implied rival, because the rival appears petty and defensive if it responds.