Happy and Sad TV Programs: How They Affect Reactions to Commercials

Relative to a sad TV program, a happy program induced: (1) a happier mood as viewers watched both program and commercials, (2) greater perceived commercial effectiveness, (3) more affectively positive cognitive responses, and (4) to some extent, better recall. A main effect for commercial type was also noted, with emotional commercials leading to generally more positive reactions than informational com-mercials. A significant program-by-commercial interaction was obtained for the viewers mood during the commercial, with the program effect greater for those viewing emotional commercials than for those viewing informational commercials. T he role of mood states and their influence on the consumer have captured the interest of consumer researchers. Gardners recent review paper (1985) points to the potential explanatory power of mood states in an array of marketing domains including service en-counters and point of purchase and communication stimuli. The questions posed in this study are as follows.