Abstract
Video ads are often muted when seen in social media on a smartphone. This research compared video ads across three Muting conditions: (1) normal (audio), (2) muted, and (3) muted with subtitles. The lab-study results showed that muted ads had lower free brand recall, cued brand recall, and brand recognition than normal ads and adding subtitles did not improve effectiveness on these measures. However, the free brand recall effects were significant only for ads seen in a news environment on a desktop computer. Ads seen in a social media environment on a mobile phone were less effective, measured by free brand recall, which is a difficult memory task. Muted ads were just as effective as normal ads and subtitled ads, in a mobile social media environment, on every measure except brand recognition, which is an easy memory task. These results suggest that muting makes little difference to the effectiveness of video ads seen in social media on smartphones. In the desktop news environment, muting reduced ad effectiveness, measured by free brand recall, but improved ad liking. The negative effect of muting on free brand recall was significant only for ads with high amounts of information (speech and audio branding) in their soundtracks, which was lost when the ad was muted. Two visual strategies (visual storytelling, and referencing shared understandings) counteracted the effects of muting on high audio information ads seen in a desktop news environment.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and material
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.
Code availability
The code used for analysis of the data is also available for download as a supplementary file.
References
Allan D (2006) Effects of popular music in advertising on attention and memory. J Advert Res 46(4):434–444. https://doi.org/10.2501/s0021849906060491
Bellman S, Schweda A, Varan D (2009) Viewing angle matters—screen type does not. J Commun 59(3):609–634. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01441.x
Bellman S, Schweda A, Varan D (2010) The residual impact of avoided television advertising. J Advert 39(1):67–82. https://doi.org/10.2753/joa0091-3367390105
Bergkvist L, Rossiter JR (2007) The predictive validity of multiple-item versus single-item measures of the same constructs. J Mark Res 44(2):175–184. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.44.2.175
Brasel SA, Gips J (2014a) Tablets, touchscreens, and touchpads: How varying touch interfaces trigger psychological ownership and endowment. J Consum Psychol 24(2):226–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2013.10.003
Brasel SA, Gips J (2014b) Enhancing television advertising: Same-language subtitles can improve brand recall, verbal memory, and behavioral intent. J Acad Mark Sci 42(3):322–336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-013-0358-1
Brown SP, Stayman DM (1992) Antecedents and consequences of attitude toward the ad: A meta-analysis. J Consum Res 19(1):34–51. https://doi.org/10.1086/209284
Bryce WJ, Yalch RF (1993) Hearing versus seeing: A comparison of consumer learning of spoken and pictorial information in television advertising. J Curr Issues Res Advert 15(1):1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641734.1993.10504993
Campbell C, Pearson E (2019) Strategies for creating successful soundless video advertisements. J Advert Res 59(1):85–98. https://doi.org/10.2501/jar-2018-015
Cohen J (1988) Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences, 2nd edn. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203771587
Coulter KS (1998) The effects of affective responses to media context on advertising evaluations. J Advert 27(4):41–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.1998.10673568
Crosby LA, Stephens N (1987) Effects of relationship marketing on satisfaction, retention, and prices in the life insurance industry. J Mark Res 24(4):404–411. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378702400408
Danaher PJ, Mullarkey GW, Essegaier S (2006) Factors affecting Web site visit duration: A cross-domain analysis. J Mark Res 43(2):182–194. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.43.2.182
Dens N, De Pelsmacker P, Verhellen Y (2018) Better together? Harnessing the power of brand placement through program sponsorship messages. J Bus Res 83:151–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.10.036
Dentsu Aegis (2020) Global ad spend forecasts. https://www.dentsuaegisnetwork.com/reports/global_ad_spend_forecasts_jan_2020. Accessed 18 Dec 2020
Edell JA, Keller KL (1989) The information processing of coordinated media campaigns. J Mark Res 26(2):149–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378902600202
Ehrenberg ASC, Goodhardt GJ, Barwise TP (1990) Double jeopardy revisited. J Mark 54(3):82–91. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299005400307
Facebook (2016a) Capturing attention in feed: The science behind effective video creative. https://www.facebook.com/business/news/insights/capturing-attention-feed-video-creative. Accessed 18 Dec 2020
Facebook (2016b) Video adverts: Testing what works for the mobile feed. https://www.facebook.com/business/news/building-video-for-mobile-feed/. Accessed 18 Dec 2020
Fraser C (2014) Music-evoked images: Music that inspires them and their influences on brand and message recall in the short and the longer term. Psychol Mark 31(10):813–827. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20736
Gall D, Latoschik ME (2020) Visual angle modulates affective responses to audiovisual stimuli. Comput Hum Behav. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106346
Goldberg ME, Gorn GJ (1987) Happy and sad TV programs: How they affect reactions to commercials. J Consum Res 14(3):387–403. https://doi.org/10.1086/209122
Goldstein DG, McAfee RP, Suri S (2011) The effects of exposure time on memory of display advertisements. In: EC ‘11, pp 49–58. https://doi.org/10.1145/1993574.1993584
Grewal D, Bart Y, Spann M, Zubcsek PP (2016) Mobile advertising: A framework and research agenda. J Interact Mark 34:3–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2016.03.003
Hall E (2016) Six tips from Facebook for using silent video better. AdAge, December 27. https://adage.com/article/digital/silent-video-speaks-volumes/307254. Accessed 18 Dec 2020
Hayes AF (2015) An index and test of linear moderated mediation. Multivar Beh Res 50(1):1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2014.962683
Herbst KC, Finkel EJ, Allan D, Fitzsimons GM (2012) On the dangers of pulling a fast one: Advertisement disclaimer speed, brand trust, and purchase intention. J Consum Res 38(5):909–919. https://doi.org/10.1086/660854
Hung K (2001) Framing meaning perceptions with music: The case of teaser ads. J Advert 30(3):39–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2001.10673644
Jastrzembski TS, Charness N (2007) The model human processor and the older adult: Parameter estimation and validation within a mobile phone task. J Exp Psychol Appl 13(4):224–248. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-898x.13.4.224
Jayasinghe L, Ritson M (2013) Everyday advertising context: An ethnography of advertising response in the family living room. J Consum Res 40(1):104–121. https://doi.org/10.1086/668889
Kelly L, Kerr G, Drennan J (2010) Avoidance of advertising in social networking sites: The teenage perspective. J Interact Advert 10(2):16–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2010.10722167
Lang A (1995) Defining audio/video redundancy from a limited-capacity information processing perspective. Commun Res 22(1):86–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/009365095022001004
Lang A (2000) The limited capacity model of mediated message processing. J Commun 50(1):46–70. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02833.x
Lang A, Gao Y, Potter RF, Lee S, Park B, Bailey RL (2015) Conceptualizing audio message complexity as available processing resources. Commun Res 42(6):759–778. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650213490722
Lantos GP, Craton LG (2012) A model of consumer response to advertising music. J Consum Mark 29(1):22–42. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363761211193028
Leigh JH (1991) Information processing differences among broadcast media: Review and suggestions for research. J Advert 20(2):71–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.1991.10673214
Lu SA, Wickens CD, Prinet JC, Hutchins SD, Sarter N, Sebok A (2013) Supporting interruption management and multimodal interface design: Three meta-analyses of task performance as a function of interrupting task modality. Hum Factors 55(4):697–724. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720813476298
MacInnis DJ, Moorman C, Jaworski BJ (1991) Enhancing and measuring consumers’ motivation, opportunity, and ability to process brand information from ads. J Mark 55(4):32–53. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251955
Maher JK, Hu MY, Kolbe RH (2006) Children’s recall of television ad elements: An examination of audiovisual effects. J Advert 35(1):23–33. https://doi.org/10.2753/joa0091-3367350102
Maheshwari S, Benner K (2016) Making video ads that work on Facebook’s silent screen. New York Times, September 25. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/26/business/media/making-video-ads-that-work-on-facebooks-silent-screen.html. Accessed 18 Dec 2020
McDuff D, El Kaliouby R, Senechal T, Demirdjian D, Picard R (2014) Automatic measurement of ad preferences from facial responses gathered over the Internet. Image Vis Comput 32(10):630–640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imavis.2014.01.004
Nelson-Field K (2020) The attention economy and how media works. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1540-8
Nenycz-Thiel M, Beal V, Ludwichowska G, Romaniuk J (2013) Investigating the accuracy of self-reports of brand usage behavior. J Bus Res 66(2):224–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.07.016
Oakes S (2007) Evaluating empirical research into music in advertising: A congruity perspective. J Advert Res 47(1):38–50. https://doi.org/10.2501/s0021849907070055
Paivio A (1986) Mental representations: A dual coding approach. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Patel S (2016) 85% of Facebook video is watched without sound. In: Digiday, May 17. https://digiday.com/media/silent-world-facebook-video/. Accessed 18 Dec 2020
Raptis D, Tselios N, Kjeldskov J, Skov MB (2013) Does size matter? In: MobileHCI ‘13, pp 127–136. https://doi.org/10.1145/2493190.2493204
Reeves B, Lang A, Kim EY, Tatar D (1999) The effects of screen size and message content on attention and arousal. Media Psychol 1(1):49–67. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532785xmep0101_4
Rigg MG (1964) The mood effects of music: A comparison of data from four investigators. J Psychol 58(2):427–438. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.1964.9916765
Romaniuk J (2018) Building distinctive brand assets. Oxford University Press, South Melbourne
Rossiter JR, Percy L (2017) Methodological guidelines for advertising research. J Advert 46(1):71–82. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2016.1182088
Scott LM (1990) Understanding jingles and needledrop: A rhetorical approach to music in advertising. J Consum Res 17(2):223–236. https://doi.org/10.1086/208552
Sharp B (1980) How brands grow: What marketers don’t know. Oxford University Press, South Melbourne
Shevy M (2007) The mood of rock music affects evaluation of video elements differing in valence and dominance. Psychomusicology 19(2):57–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0094034
Statista (2019) Market reach of the most popular mobile app categories in the United States as of September 2019. https://www.statista.com/statistics/579302/top-app-categories-usa-reach/. Accessed 18 Dec 2020
Vakratsas D, Ambler T (1999) How advertising works: What do we really know? J Mark 63(1):26–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299906300103
van Reijmersdal E (2009) Brand placement prominence: Good for memory! Bad for attitudes? J Advert Res 49(2):151–153. https://doi.org/10.2501/s0021849909090199
Vaughan K, Beal V, Romaniuk R (2016) Can brand users really remember advertising more than nonusers? Testing an empirical generalization across six advertising awareness measures. J Advert Res 56(3):311–320. https://doi.org/10.2501/jar-2016-037
Wickens CD (2008) Multiple resources and mental workload. Hum Factors 50(3):449–455. https://doi.org/10.1518/001872008x288394
Wojdynski BW, Bang H (2016) Distraction effects of contextual advertising on online news processing: An eye-tracking study. Beh Inform Tech 35(8):654–664. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929x.2016.1177115
Woltman Elpers JLCM, Wedel M, Pieters RGM (2003) Why do consumers stop viewing television commercials? Two experiments on the influence of moment-to-moment entertainment and information value. J Mark Res 40(4):437–453. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.40.4.437.19393
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Kyle Thurin for his assistance collecting the biometrics and facial coding data for this study.
Funding
This research was funded (as Study 73) by the sponsors of the Beyond:30 project (www.beyond30.org).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest/Competing interests
The authors declare the following: this research was funded by a consortium of companies that included Facebook and its competitors (e.g., Google, and television networks). This balance of interests means that this research was not influenced by any single company or industry group.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bellman, S., Arismendez, S. & Varan, D. Can muted video advertising be as effective as video advertising with sound?. SN Bus Econ 1, 27 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43546-020-00030-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43546-020-00030-9