That was a great commercial, but what were they selling?: Effects of violence and sex on memory for products in televisioncommercials

Belch G. E.; Bello D. C.; De Pelsmacker P.; Eich E.; Furnham A.; Furnham A.; Geer J. H.; Geer J. H.; Geer J. H.; Hamilton J. T.; Harris R. J.; Herr N.; Jones M. Y.; Lang A.; Latour M. S.; McClung G.; Park W. C.; Park W. C.; Park W. C.; Peterson R. A.; Reichert T.; Severn J.; Sharma A.; Shimp T. A.; Simpson P. M.; Wells G. L.; Williamson S. S.; Yi Y.

research

That was a great commercial, but what were they selling?: Effects of violence and sex on memory for products in televisioncommercials

Authors: Belch G. E.
Bello D. C.
De Pelsmacker P.
Eich E.
Furnham A.
Furnham A.
Geer J. H.
Geer J. H.
Geer J. H.
Hamilton J. T.
Harris R. J.
Herr N.
Jones M. Y.
Lang A.
Latour M. S.
McClung G.
Park W. C.
Park W. C.
Park W. C.
Peterson R. A.
Reichert T.
Severn J.
Sharma A.
Shimp T. A.
Simpson P. M.
Wells G. L.
Williamson S. S.
Yi Y.
Publication date: 1 January 2007
Publisher
Doi

Abstract

College students (N = 324) watched a television program containing violence, sex, or no violence or sex. Each program contained 3 violent ads, 3 sexual ads, and 3 neutral ads. Participants were less likely to remember the advertised brands when the ads were embedded in a violent or sexual program than when the ads were embedded in a neutral program. Violent ads were the least memorable. This memory impairment occurred for both males and females, regardless of the content of the ads. If advertisers want viewers to remember advertised brands, they should think twice about sponsoring programs containing violence and sex. © 2007 Copyright the Authors; Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing, Inc