The Effects of Affective Responses to Media Context on Advertising Evaluations

Abstract The author examines the effects of emotional responses to television programming (program-induced affect) on attitude toward the ad (Aad). He finds that both thoughts about the program and overall program evaluations (i.e., program liking) mediate the effect of program-induced affect on Aad, and that emotional responses to the ad moderate the relationship between program liking and Aad. More specifically, the program liking-Aad linkage is strengthened if the ad and program are similar in emotional content. That effect is enhanced for ads appearing early within a pod. The author proposes and tests a model specifying the nature of the relationships among those variables, and discusses the practical implications for advertising practitioners.