The effect of fear‐inducing content on memory for advertisements and on retroactive and proactive interference of programme information

Abstract

The current study focused on whether fear-inducing content in television advertisements leads to better memory for the advertisement but also impairs memory for programme information that either precedes the advertisements (retroactive interference) or that follows the advertisements (proactive interference). Fifty-four participants (48 female) aged 18 to 55 watched a programme that had an advertisement break in the centre. This consisted of 6 advertisements with either fear-inducing or nonfear-inducing content. Participants were tested on their recall and recognition of the advertisement information as well as their recall of the first half and second half of the programme. The results indicated that fear-inducing advertisements were better recalled than those that elicited no fear, and there was also evidence of proactive interference from fear-inducing advertisements on programme recall. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.

The Effectiveness of “Fear of Missing Out” Inducing Content in Facebook Advertisements

“…The overall findings are consistent with previous research on the impact of emotion on memory for advertisements. For example, it has been observed that evoking emotions in advertisements can lead to better memory and awareness for a brand (Akram et al, 2018;Bakalash & Riemer, 2013;Bradely, Angelini, & Lee, 2007;Hodkinson, 2016). These findings are supported by the results from this study, which indicate that evoking FOMO related emotions can also be effective in improving memory for a brand or product.…”

“…For this reason, it is important to understand which factors will effectively enhance memory for the advertisements. While it has been demonstrated that advertising techniques such as in-ducing moderate fear (e.g., Akram et al, 2018;Ray & Wilkie, 1970), including humour (Furnham, et al, 1998) and sexual content (King, et al, 2015) can effectively increase memorability for advertising information, the current study implies that generating FOMO in Facebook advertisements can also increase awareness and memorability for a brand. This may be of great importance to advertisers operating in an extremely competitive field.…”

“…Participants were given a total of four memory questionnaires and were similar to the questionnaires used in the Akram et al, (2018) study. These questionnaires were presented in the following order: Free recall for advertisement in-formation; Recognition of brand name; Recognition of product; Cued recall of advertisements.…”

“…There is, however, a body of research examining the effectiveness of emotional appeals in advertisements (Akram, McClelland, & Furnham, 2018;Baird, Wahlers, & Cooper, 2007;Bakalash & Riemer, 2013). Whilst it has been shown that emo-tional appeals have a substantial impact on consumer attitudes, as well as upon purchase intentions within print, television and radio advertising (Edell & Burke, 1987), the influence of emotional advertising appeals on consumer's memory remains controversial.…”

“…One specific form of emotional advertising that has been researched in the past is fear. Akram, McClelland and Furnham (2018) aimed to test whether the fear inducing content in television advertisements led to better memory for the advertisement. They found that fear inducing content in advertisement led to better memory compared to non-fear inducing content.…”