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A study has shown the effect on advertising of eating popcorn. Photo: AFP

Eating popcorn may screen out film adverts’ effects

Eating popcorn in the cinema may be irritating not just for fellow moviegoers but for advertisers: researchers from Cologne University have concluded that chewing makes us immune to film advertising.

Eating popcorn in the cinema may be irritating not just for fellow moviegoers but for advertisers: researchers from Cologne University have concluded that chewing makes us immune to film advertising.

The reason why adverts manage to imprint brand names on our brains is that our lips and tongue automatically simulate the pronunciation of a new name when we first hear it. Every time we re-encounter the name, our mouth subconsciously practises its pronunciation.

However, according to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, this “inner speech” can be disturbed by chewing, rendering the repetition effect redundant.

For their experiment, the researchers invited a group of 96 people to a cinema to watch a film preceded by a series of adverts. Half of the participants were given free popcorn throughout the session; the other half received a small sugar cube which dissolved in their mouths.

A test at the end of the screening showed that the adverts had no effect on those who had chewed their way through popcorn, while the other participants showed positive psychological responses to the products in the ads.

“The mundane activity of eating popcorn made participants immune to the pervasive effects of advertising,” said Sascha Topolinski, one of the researchers.

He implied the research may spell the end of popcorn machines in cinema foyers. “This finding suggests that selling candy in theatres undermines advertising effects, which contradicts present marketing strategies. In the future, when promoting a novel brand, advertising clients might consider trying to prevent candy being sold before the main movie.”

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Popcorn makes ads hard to swallow
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