The Effects of Pleasure and Arousal on Recall of Advertisements during the Super Bowl

Newell, Stephen J., Kenneth V. Henderson, and Bob T. Wu. 2001. The Effects of Pleasure and Arousal on Recall of Advertisements during the Super Bowl. Psychology & Marketing 18, no. 11: 1135-1153.

Basing their research upon the principles of Processing Efficiency and Intensity, Newell, Henderson, and Wu engaged in a study on the effects of consumers’ moods on advertisement effectiveness. More specifically, they investigated whether advertisement recall is affected by viewers’ levels of pleasure and arousal. The researchers conducted a field study, as participants watched the Super Bowl in their natural surroundings. Afterwards, researchers questioned participants on their recall of the advertisements aired.

They found that the Super Bowl invokes emotional responses within viewers, especially those with a team preference, hindering the recall of advertisements and brands. They reported that the average number of advertisements recalled was higher than the number of brand names recalled. The researchers also found that advertisements aired during the first half of the game were recalled more than those aired in the second half.

Their findings ask questions of whether or not Super Bowl advertisements are worth their cost, and this article proves useful in such a debate. The researchers offer detailed background information and they explain the principles of Processing Efficiency and Intensity, helping readers to fully understand the theory behind their study. Their findings are applicable to today, as the article is current. The researchers also discuss the limitations of their study and the potential avenues for future research.

Violence and Sex in Television Programs Do Not Sell Products in Advertisements

Bushman, Brad J. 2005. "Violence and Sex in Television Programs Do Not Sell Products in Advertisements." Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell) 16, no. 9: 702-708.

Brad Bushman’s study compliments and reinforces the findings discovered in a previously posted article, “Does sex sell? The effect of sexual programme content on the recall of sexual and non-sexual advertisements.” As found in Parker and Furnham’s study, Bushman argues that television programs containing sex or violence hinder brand recall and reduce consumers’ interest in buying or selecting a coupon for that brand. Surprisingly, however, Bushman did not find any differences or correlations concerning gender and age.

In his experiment, Bushman recruited 336 participants, aged 18 to 54, through newspaper ads in central Iowa. Age was distributed to be representative of US adults owning a television in their household. Participants were compensated. Participants were divided into four groups, 84 in each, and asked to watch a television show containing sex, violence, both sex and violence, or one with no sex and violence. Each television program included the same twelve advertisements. Bushman measured participants’ recall of advertisements, brand recognition, buying intentions, and coupon choices.

This article has its pros and cons. The article is current, as it was published in 2005, and the study is grounded in previous theory. Bushman offers a literature review, citations for further reading, and useful background information. He discusses the practical implications of the study; however he did not mention any limitations to his experiment. I do not plan on studying types of television programs in my research project, as advertisements will be my sole independent variable, yet I still believe Bushman’s experiment data and literature review will serve as a good secondary source and will be useful when comparing consumer behavior.

Does sex sell? The effect of sexual programme content on the recall of sexual and non-sexual advertisements

Parker, Ellie, and Adrian Furnham. 2007. "Does sex sell? The effect of sexual programme content on the recall of sexual and non-sexual advertisements." Applied Cognitive Psychology 21, no. 9: 1217-1228.

The authors of this study examined brand recall of sexual versus non-sexual advertisements inserted within television programs. The article begins with an in depth look into previous studies involving television advertisements of a sexual or violent nature. The authors’ study is based upon these previous theories which claim that sexual or violent commercials invoke emotions within consumers and lead to increases in sales.

To briefly summarize the authors’ experiment, participants, students aged 18 to 31, were asked to watch either ‘Sex in the City’ or ‘Malcolm in the Middle.’ After which, they were asked to recall details of the advertisements played during commercial break. The authors found that television shows containing sexual content, such as ‘Sex in the City,’ hindered consumers’ recall of advertisements. However, the type of advertisement, sexual or non-sexual, did not have a major effect on recall. The authors also reported differences between gender and advertisement recall. Males recalled sexual advertisements better, while females recalled non-sexual advertisements better. Those who recalled specific content of the advertisements remembered the brand name as well.

I found the information provided in this article to be useful. The authors’ literature review solidifies their study and gives them credibility. This article, and the additional sources cited in this article, could really enrich the literature reviews of advertisement studies. Not only does it discuss sexuality, the article also touches on issues of violence, gender roles, and age.