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Study Suggests TV Commercials Make Us Happy

by Chad Mumm on February 27, 2009 at 07:03 PM


Anyone with a TiVo or similar PVR will tell you that the moment they first sped through commercials changed their life. Sure, blazing past the myriad badness of identical car commercials, 'hip' fast-food ads, and mind-ruining jingles may be a dream come true for avid television viewers, but does it actually make the experience better? A chorus of satisfied customers may cry the obvious and emphatic "YES!" but scientists are now singing a different tune.

According to a study soon to be published in "The Journal of Consumer Research," the interruption of commercials may actually increase the level of enjoyment for younger viewers. This all comes down to a behavioral trait called adaptation, which predicts that it's possible to get too much of a good thing. In other words, even doing something you like will become less enjoyable over time. Every time an enjoyed program is interrupted by a commercial, it increases anticipation for its return. This tends to be exacerbated in people under the age of 35, a generation that prefers instant satisfaction and tends to get bored more easily, as well as during less intense television fare. This may sound like an epic win for advertisers, but Madison Avenue shouldn't break out the champagne just yet -- the leader of the study says that the strong negative feeling for commercials trumps all, no matter how much better they make the experience. [From: Time]

Click 'Read' below to check out more about the study.

Tags: ads, advertising, research, study

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