Ad Reactions over Time: Capturing Changes in the Real World

Using a naturally occurring situation as a quasi-experiment, this article contrasts measures of attitude toward advertisements for groups of subjects with different potential levels of exposure to repeated airings of the ads during a four-month TV campaign. These measures were taken after several different periods of delay following subjects' exposure to the ads. The results indicate that even with all of the confounding variables that exist in a natural viewing environment, subjects' evaluations of the ads decline as levels of potential exposure increase, though those evaluations return to their initial levels after an eight-month period of no exposure. A striking result, however, is that two different measures of attitude toward the ad show very different patterns over time. The article also presents exploratory evidence on the role of the initial likeability of the ad.