TY - JOUR
T1 - A “Clear and Conspicuous” Distraction
T2 - Coping with Incongruent Audiovisual Content in Direct-to-Consumer Advertisements
AU - King, Jesse
AU - Yencha, Christopher
AU - Koppenhafer, Leslie
AU - Madrigal, Robert
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© American Marketing Association 2022.
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - Direct-to-consumer television advertisements for pharmaceutical medications must include a major statement disclosing the drug's most important risks and side effects. However, advertisers often pair incongruent positive visual imagery with risk information presented auditorily. Incongruence violates a principle of effective communication because it distracts from information processing. Across three studies, the authors consider how audiovisual incongruity biases perceptions of an advertised drug's risks and benefits. Using moment-to-moment measurement, Study 1 reveals that the rate of change in risk perceptions increases (i.e., accelerates) immediately after the flow of positive imagery is interrupted by a scene change during the major statement, but no such effect is observed for the advertisement in its entirety. Using post hoc measures, the latter two studies support these results. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrate that auditory risk disclosures may be enhanced by replacing distracting imagery with congruent, reinforcing text (Study 2) or by educating consumers about how distracting imagery is used as a distraction tactic (Study 3). Implications for advertising theory and recommendations for policy makers are discussed.
AB - Direct-to-consumer television advertisements for pharmaceutical medications must include a major statement disclosing the drug's most important risks and side effects. However, advertisers often pair incongruent positive visual imagery with risk information presented auditorily. Incongruence violates a principle of effective communication because it distracts from information processing. Across three studies, the authors consider how audiovisual incongruity biases perceptions of an advertised drug's risks and benefits. Using moment-to-moment measurement, Study 1 reveals that the rate of change in risk perceptions increases (i.e., accelerates) immediately after the flow of positive imagery is interrupted by a scene change during the major statement, but no such effect is observed for the advertisement in its entirety. Using post hoc measures, the latter two studies support these results. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrate that auditory risk disclosures may be enhanced by replacing distracting imagery with congruent, reinforcing text (Study 2) or by educating consumers about how distracting imagery is used as a distraction tactic (Study 3). Implications for advertising theory and recommendations for policy makers are discussed.
KW - advertising
KW - Colavita effect
KW - differences-in-differences analysis
KW - direct-to-consumer advertising
KW - distraction
KW - moment-to-moment data
KW - risk
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138431955&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/marketing_facpubs/75
U2 - 10.1177/07439156221101581
DO - 10.1177/07439156221101581
M3 - Article
SN - 0743-9156
VL - 41
SP - 353
EP - 367
JO - Journal of Public Policy & Marketing
JF - Journal of Public Policy & Marketing
IS - 4
ER -