Enhancing the Television-Viewing Experience Through Commercial Interruptions

Citation: Leif Nelson, Tom Meyvis, Jeff Galak (2009) Enhancing the Television-Viewing Experience Through Commercial Interruptions. Journal of Consumer Research (RSS)
DOI (original publisher): 10.1086/597030
Semantic Scholar (metadata): 10.1086/597030
Sci-Hub (fulltext): 10.1086/597030
Internet Archive Scholar (search for fulltext): Enhancing the Television-Viewing Experience Through Commercial Interruptions
Download: http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/stable/10.1086/597030
Tagged: Consumer Research (RSS), Advertising (RSS), Television Advertisements (RSS)

Summary

This paper shows that the commonly held assumption that television commercials worsen the viewer experience, is in fact not always true, and that commercials can actually improved the viewer experience. The authors believe that viewing enjoyment diminishes over time and that commercial interruptions disrupt the diminishment process and restores (either fully or partially) the previous intensity of the viewer’s enjoyment. This occurs because commercials allow for time to pass, allowing viewer enjoyment to recover, and because commercials can act as a novel experience for experience for the viewer. The authors believe that consumers have trouble believing that commercial interruptions can be beneficial because they fail to recognize that they adapt to pleasant experiences, they overestimate the negative impacts of these interruptions, and the general preference to avoid something less enjoyable if the alternative is something more enjoyable.

The authors undertook six studies to prove their hypothesis.

In study 1, subjects were shown an episode of a TV sitcom. Half watched the show with commercials and half watched with commercials removed. The results showed that subjects enjoyed the sitcom more when it was shown with commercials that when it was shown without.

In study 2, subjects were shown a video, but one group’s video was interrupted by an enjoyable commercial while the other group’s video was interrupted with a less enjoyable commercial. Results showed (again) that the commercial disruption made the program more enjoyable and that an equally enjoyable commercial still improved the video.

Study 3 focused on whether or not the sequence of commercials affected subjects’ enjoyment of their video. Half of the group was given a video where commercials were shown before and after the show. The other half of the group had two commercials inserted into the show, so as to disrupt the viewer experience. Results showed that subjects enjoyed the video more when it was interrupted by commercials rather than when the commercials were placed before and after the video.

Study 4 combined two short documentaries so that they either played in sequential order, or that they disrupted each other (i.e. first half of documentary 1 played followed by the first half of documentary 2 and so on). Results showed that subjects’ enjoyed the experience more in the disrupted condition than in the sequential condition.

Study 5 tested the effect of individual differences in the tendency to adapt, by measuring consumer age. Previous research has found that as age increases, consumers’ need for stimulation decreases. This study conceptually replicated Study 2 but used a wider age distribution than previously used. Results showed that the effect of disruption is moderated by variation in subjects’ tendency to adapt and that without commercial interruption, younger subjects showed marginally more adaptation than older subjects.

Study 6 tested whether the commercial interruptions have less impact on shows that viewers are less likely to adapt to. Subjects were asked to watch and rate one of six Bollywood music videos and evaluate their experience afterwards. All subjects were privy to the same commercials but only some subjects were given disruptive commercials. Results showed that subjects watching a high adaptation video enjoyed the disrupted condition more than the continuous (no interruption) condition. This poses the idea that interruptions only improve a program when that program leads to viewer adaptation. If that program does not lead to viewer adaptation, the interruptions detract from the experience.

Theoretical and Practical Relevance

Commercials in the middle of a clip will likely improve viewer experience, rather than placement at the beginning or end of the clip. However, it is unlikely that all types of commercial interruptions will improve all programs; it can depend on the type of program and the type of commercial.