Advertising impact: Are entertaining TV commercials worthwhile?

Researchers from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the market research company Affectiva conducted an online experiment with 178 American consumers to find out how entertainment elements affect advertising. The consumers were each shown a sequence of 20 randomly selected TV commercials from a set of 82 commercials in total. The commercials came from three product areas: confectionery, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. Consumers had the option of skipping the individual commercials at any time during the experiment. During the presentation of the commercials, the facial expressions of the study participants were analyzed via webcam using software. The entertainment level of the commercials was determined based on the facial expressions of the test subjects - e.g. smiling, grinning or laughing. After the videos were shown, the participants were asked to what extent they intended to buy the advertised brands.

First of all, the experiment shows that humor, entertaining beats etc. increase consumer interest in the TV commercials. A linear relationship applies here: the higher the average entertainment level on the consumer side, the higher the probability that consumers will watch a commercial in full (effect size = 0.987). An example: The commercial with the highest average entertainment level (37% on a scale of 0 to 100%) was watched to the end in 86% of cases, while the commercial with the lowest entertainment value (16%) was only watched in 57% of cases. The increased interest in the commercials in turn leads to an increased purchase intention for the advertised brands (effect size = 0.220). Entertainment therefore has an indirect positive effect on purchase intention via interest in the commercial. In addition to this indirect effect mechanism, however, there is also a direct effect of the entertainment level on consumers' purchase intention. Here, a positive linear (effect size = 0.905) and a negative non-linear (effect size = -1.014) effect interact. As a result, this leads to a correlation between entertainment level and purchase intention that can be described figuratively as an inverted U-curve: A medium level of entertainment leads to a higher purchase intention than a low or high level of entertainment. The second part of the study investigated at which point in a TV commercial entertainment elements should best be integrated in order to achieve an optimal advertising effect: before or after the advertised brand is presented for the first time?

According to the study, a higher level of humor, music or similar features has a positive effect on consumers' purchase intention if the entertainment effects are used after the presentation of the brand (effect size = 0.698). Entertainment before the presentation of the brand, on the other hand, tends to have a negative influence on purchase intention. Of course, this does not necessarily mean that entertainment should be dispensed with before the brand is presented or that the brand should be shown earlier in the commercial. If the initial aim of a commercial - for a new product, for example - is to arouse interest in the commercial itself and to ensure that it is watched to the end, the early use of entertainment components can make sense in order to increase the attractiveness of the commercial.

Clemens Koob

Key Facts
 
- Entertaining TV advertising is more interesting. The higher the average entertainment level among consumers, the more likely it is that they will watch a commercial in its entirety.  Higher interest in commercials in turn leads to a higher purchase intention for the advertised brands; entertainment has an indirect positive effect on purchase intention.
- However, the direct effect of the entertainment level on the purchase intention consists of a positive linear and a negative non-linear part.
- Overall, this means that a medium entertainment level leads to a higher purchase intention than a low or high entertainment level.
- Entertainment features after the first presentation of the brand in the TV commercial increase the purchase intention, features before do not.