The Effects of Program Responses on the Processing of Commercials Placed at Various Positions in the Program and the Block

The aim of this study was to test if valence and intensity dimensions of responses to general programming affect commercial processing in everyday life. Results from analyses on data from a large telephone survey showed that indicators of program-induced valence and intensity significantly affected several advertising processing measures. Intensity had a positive impact on measures of attention and recall, while valence was positively related to attitude toward the advertisement. Next, we investigated the moderating influences of variations in commercial placement on these relations. We found that effects of intensity and valence on commercial processing were stronger for interrupting blocks than shoulder blocks. However, the position of the commercial within the block did not have an impact on these carryover effects.The study on the effects of program responses on the processing of commercials placed at various positions in the program and the block was part of a Ph.D. project on the relationship between media environments and advertising effects conducted at ASCoR. The authors wish to thank John Faasse, Unilever, and Initiative for making the data available for analyses.