Running head: EFFECTS OF ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION

Effects of Advertising on Television

Robert Cupach
Kent State University

EFFECT OF ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION

EFFECT OF ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION

Television plays an important role in the lives of people in todays society. People enjoy
various programs on television such as sitcom shows, movies, documentaries, or even the daily
news. Some people do not realize that during and in between these programs, massive amounts
of advertisement for products are engraved into peoples thoughts and ideas. Whether it is a very
obvious advertisement, or a subtle one, advertisements are all over the television. Based on what
the gatekeepers are choosing to release will impact the type of advertisements that a person is
viewing. The program itself also tailors to the types of advertisements that will be showed or
aired during a program. Some people may not even be paying attention to the advertisement, but
subliminally they are aware of the ad. The media has an agenda and a frame of view they want
people to gather their information from. Certain types of advertising and product branding leads
people to purchase and crave items that they do not necessarily need. Television viewers see
some celebrity endorsing a product or the product is released during primetime programming
persuading the viewers to buy that item. So what is the connection with advertising and the
emphasis put on when to air the ad and how the advertisements are portrayed to other people to
frame an idea of a life of luxury items they may not be possible to obtain?
Advertising takes more than just creating a product idea and getting as much information
out about the product possible. A key question for advertisers considering product placement is
how to most effectively place their brand or product in a chosen medium (Gillespie, Joireman,
and Muehling, 2012). The obviousness of an advertisement compared to how subtle an

EFFECT OF ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION

advertisement is can be very important. Pairing up product information with program being
aired on television is important. The Agenda Setting theory states that a type of communication
effect showing a strong link between importance placed on issues by the media and importance
of the issues to the public (Bryant,2013). The products that the media, gatekeepers, and
advertisers show on television have a specific time and purpose for being aired. These
advertisements being set to a specific agenda helps frame a society of specific products and ways
to think about certain products. Ego and state of mind can be a few important factors to
advertisers. A study was done to see if a persons ego has any correlation with brand recognition
during television viewing. People have long days of work and want to come home to relax and
watch their shows. The leading advertisers put their products out during these primetime even
events to draw in the tired and weary viewers. Specifically, ego depletion reduced recognition of
brands placed subtly in a show, and ego depletion increased attitudes toward brands placed
subtly in a show (Gillespie, Joireman, and Muehling, 2012). The more subtly a product can be
placed, the more favorable a persons attitude will be towards this product. The example used
was Dasani water. The people, who subtly saw the bottle of Dasani water during the program,
were more likely to want a bottle of Dasani water. Advertising drives people to purchase items
that before seeing might not even need or want. The advertising method sets the agenda on what
people want to do next with their television viewing experience and transitions to their actual
life.
The television stations ultimately have the control of what advertisements they want
people to be exposed to. Gatekeepers control what product they want the viewers to see. The
media and television have the ultimate control over what people view. U.S. television viewers
receive very uneven protection, with some stations having a difficult clearance process, and

EFFECT OF ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION

others having random or non-existent clearance procedures (Rotfeld, Abernethy, and Parsons,
1990). Why is it that some advertisements have an easier time reaching the air than other
advertisement? The frame that society builds towards certain advertising is based off of what the
head television programmers want us to view. In an open market society wouldnt it make sense
to have equal opportunity in what is advertised and aired on television? A study done with selfregulating advertisement showed that some stations were quite strict, requesting claim
substantiation for every ad and rejecting more than twenty percent of commercials (Rotfeld,
Abernethy, and Parsons, 1990). The market has the power to control everything that the people
view. The more money the station has, the easier it seems to regulate and allow advertisements
to be shown. Stations with less market power that have strict clearance standards, could be more
easily replaced in an advertiser's media plans (Rotfeld, Abernethy, and Parsons, 1990). The more
recognition and credibility the station has, the more advertisements allowed to be shown through
that channel. The gatekeepers will regulate what goes in and out and what is shown to the
viewers putting a frame to a society that we have little control over.
Brand placement and advertising have changed the way many people view the world.
Seeing an advertisement for a new car or new top of line product can stimulate the brain to want
that item. In a society where people seem to envy money and possessive items, what a better
place to reach people with advertisements than television. Brand placement is defined as "the
compensated inclusion of brands or brand identifiers through audio and/or visual means within
media programming" (Van Reijmersdal, 2009, 151). Perception of a product by the viewer is
also important to the advertisers. They want to put a product on television that is going to sell
and draw the viewers in. Prominent brand placement affects memory positively, but affects
attitudes negatively when audiences are involved with the medium vehicle, when they like the

EFFECT OF ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION

medium vehicle, or when they become aware of the deliberate brand placement (Van
Reijmersdal, 2009). The prominent brand placement can turn people off to the idea of purchasing
items at certain times. A cognitive defense is set up in the brain to eliminate any idea of
purchasing an item that the brain has previously turned itself off to. So why continue to show
these advertisements on television? One person might be completely turned off to a product,
however there is always another person viewing an advertisement wanting to purchase that item
to get the self-satisfaction of just having the item, even if it is not needed. The agenda is set that
an item needs to be instantly purchased to have self-gratification for oneself or even to impress
their peers.
Advertisers want to appeal to the emotions of their viewers. They want to advertise a
product that has the viewer thinking Yes, I need that item. Appealing to a persons emotions is
a very effective, but deviant way to reach viewers. During a sporting event on television, the
advertisers are going to want to appeal to emotions. Beer is quite commonly associated with
sporting events. Television advertising for beer during these sporting events appeals to a
persons inebriated emotion. The viewer sees an advertisement for beer and then they want to go
drink another beer. The Super Bowl is the biggest agenda setting activity for advertisements in
the United States. Every year beer sponsors release cheesy or corny beer ads to appeal to
peoples humor emotion and to their inebriated emotion. The beer advertisements always say
drink responsibly, but when a person sees a group of people drinking down beers, they will be
more prone to want a beer. A study was done comparing beer advertisements of Budweiser,
Heineken, Bud Light, and Miller Light. The study wanted to see how peoples emotions
connected to beer advertisements by measuring heart rate, visual self-report, and skin
conductance. While physiological reactions tend to decrease, participants report an increasing

EFFECT OF ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION

conscious emotional reaction throughout the ad for the narrative commercials (Micu,Plummer,
2010). Advertisements seem to have a correlation with peoples emotional response to them and
how prone they will be to purchase the product that appeals most to them. The beer
advertisements frame the idea that for people to have a good time, alcohol is sometimes
necessary. Nonverbal actions in the commercials also have an effect on a persons emotional
status. The more visuals involved in an advertisement, the more empathetic the viewer becomes
to the product (Micu,Plummer, 2010). Tailoring to peoples emotions helps subliminally
influence them to want a product.
Advertisements have a very interesting way of reaching to the people. They first must fit
the agenda of what programs that are being shown on television at a specific time of day.
Depending on the day of the year and time of the day that it is, gatekeepers will air the
advertisements they really want the viewers to see. After the advertisement is put in a specific
time spot, the emotional appeal of the advertisement comes next. Advertisers want to show
products that the viewers feel the need to purchase when they see it. The frame of a persons
world can be heavily affected by the types of advertisements on television. The advertisers put
products on television either in extremely obvious ways or very subtle and secretive ways. The
subtle ways can be more effective at times than the blatantly obvious ways. Advertisements
sometimes have negative effects based on state of mind and repeated exposure to certain
advertisements. Advertisements can have a more powerful effect on the mind than most people
believe. Gatekeepers and the media will advertise the products they feel will make most profit
and product recognition. Sometimes in society the overuse of advertising and product placement
can be stressful on the mind and frame a world that is not always plausible.

EFFECT OF ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION

References
Bryant, J., Thompson, S. (2013). Fundamentals of media effects. 2 ed. Boston, MA: McGrawnd

Hill.
Gillespie, Brian, Jeff Joireman, and Darrel Muehling. The moderating effect of ego depletion
on viewer brand recognition and brand attitudes following exposure to subtle versus
blatant product placements in television programs. Journal of Advertising 41.2 (2012):
55-56.
Micu, Anca Cristina, and Joseph T. Plummer. "Measurable emotions: How television ads really
work -- patterns of reactions to commercials can demonstrate advertising Effectiveness."
Journal of Advertising Research 50.2 (2010): 137.

EFFECT OF ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION

Reijmersdal, Eva Van. Brand placement prominence: good for memory! Bad for attitudes?
Journal of Advertising Research 49.2 (2009): 151.
Rotfeld, Herbert J., Avery M. Abernethy, and Patrick R. Parsons. Self-Regulation and
television advertising. Journal of Advertising 19.4 (1990): 18-26.