Many companies employ preannouncing advertising when they launch new products such as Nintendo DS, Apple's iPhone, and Samsung Galaxy. Existing studies have shown that preannouncing advertising could contribute to increasing consumers' attention and purchase intention before a new product is launched in the market. In this research, we investigated a potential moderating variable for the effect of preannouncing advertising on new product evaluation based on the Construal Level Theory. We conducted an experiment by manipulating the time of advertising (before vs. after product release) and the type of background image (foreign vs. domestic) and found that the type of background image in the preannouncing advertising moderated the effect of the advertising on new product evaluation. Specifically, participants who were exposed to a preannouncing advertising with foreign background image showed more positive attitudes toward the advertised new product than those exposed to a preannouncing advertising with domestic background image. On the contrary, after the new product is released in the market, participants exposed to an advertising with domestic background image showed more positive attitudes toward the advertised product than those exposed to an advertising with foreign background image. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications of this study were discussed.