TY - JOUR
T1 - Overlay ads in humorous online videos
T2 - it’s a matter of timing
AU - Vermeulen, Ivar
AU - Droog, Ellen
AU - Burgers, Christian
PY - 2019/10/3
Y1 - 2019/10/3
N2 - Humorous video genres (e.g. comedy/skits, pranks, or humorous vlogs and gaming videos) are among the most popular on online platforms like YouTube. The most common way for brands to advertise in these videos is by means of overlay ads. The current paper investigates the effectiveness of such in-video ads. Based on prior studies on multi-modal information processing, we propose that the timing of showing the brand vs. the humorous build-up may be crucial. In two 4-condition (showing the brand at the joke’s start, immediately before, simultaneous to, and immediately after the punch line) between-subjects experiments (N = 109; N = 394), participants assessed brand recall, brand-logo recognition, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions after exposure to an overlay ad of a soda brand during a humorous (stand-up) video. Results show the importance of timing: confirming our expectations, showing the brand simultaneous to the punch line reduced recall (Study 1) and logo recognition (Studies 1 and 2). In contrast, showing the brand simultaneous to (Study 1) or immediately before (Study 2) the punch line improved brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Results indicate that the optimal timing of an overlay ad during a humorous video depends on the advertiser’s goals: increasing brand awareness or improving brand attitudes.
AB - Humorous video genres (e.g. comedy/skits, pranks, or humorous vlogs and gaming videos) are among the most popular on online platforms like YouTube. The most common way for brands to advertise in these videos is by means of overlay ads. The current paper investigates the effectiveness of such in-video ads. Based on prior studies on multi-modal information processing, we propose that the timing of showing the brand vs. the humorous build-up may be crucial. In two 4-condition (showing the brand at the joke’s start, immediately before, simultaneous to, and immediately after the punch line) between-subjects experiments (N = 109; N = 394), participants assessed brand recall, brand-logo recognition, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions after exposure to an overlay ad of a soda brand during a humorous (stand-up) video. Results show the importance of timing: confirming our expectations, showing the brand simultaneous to the punch line reduced recall (Study 1) and logo recognition (Studies 1 and 2). In contrast, showing the brand simultaneous to (Study 1) or immediately before (Study 2) the punch line improved brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Results indicate that the optimal timing of an overlay ad during a humorous video depends on the advertiser’s goals: increasing brand awareness or improving brand attitudes.
KW - advertising
KW - Humor
KW - overlay
KW - timing
KW - YouTube
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85072137275&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85072137275&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02650487.2019.1621616
DO - 10.1080/02650487.2019.1621616
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85072137275
VL - 38
SP - 1046
EP - 1066
JO - International Journal of Advertising
JF - International Journal of Advertising
SN - 0265-0487
IS - 7
ER -