Why, When, and How Much to Entertain Consumers in Advertisements? A Web-Based Facial Tracking Field Study

Can you have too much entertainment in an ad? The data suggests it’s possible. In this study, in partnership with colleagues from the MIT Media Lab, we used facial tracking technology to evaluate the impact that different levels of entertainment in TV ads had on consumers’ nearly 5000 ad viewing and purchasing decisions. There is much evidence that the presence of positive forms of entertainment (e.g., content that is clever, humorous, creative) in TV advertisements can increase the effectiveness of the ads by making them both more attractive and more persuasive. We found, however, that too much (or misplaced) entertainment, can actually be detrimental to the persuasiveness of the ad. By explaining why, when, and how much to entertain consumers, we identify how advertisers can maximize the persuasiveness and effectiveness of their advertising in order to increase sales. In-Home Field Experiment We have completed what is, to our knowledge, the first large-scale, web-based field experiment to measure entertainment levels through facial expression analysis [Figure 1]. Our novel facial tracking system captures facial expressions associated with entertainment (e.g., smiles) using the web camera in participants’ computers. Continuous measurement of the smile responses and facial cues allow us to determine participants’ interest in fully viewing the ad and their intent to purchase the featured brand. We showed a sample of 82 ads with various levels of entertainment from 3 product categories (beverages, confectionary, and alcohol) to 275 people in their homes and workplaces [Figure 2]. The remote nature of the technology is both scalable and unobtrusive, allowing for the collection of data from a more natural out-of-lab environment where entertainment and other advertising content compete with environmental stimuli for the consumer’s attention.