The effects of commercial length on advertising impact: What short advertisements can and cannot deliver

There are competing explanations for why longer advertisements are remembered better, such as more time to memorize, add branding and claims, tell stories, and get attention, with some acknowledgment of diminishing returns.
Varan, Nenycz-Thiel, Kennedy, and Bellman

MANAGEMENT SLANT

  • Short commercials can deliver effectiveness efficiently, because commercial length has diminishing returns.
  • Most of the effectiveness of long commercials is delivered in the first five seconds.
  • Short commercials can achieve rates of brand recall nearly comparable to those of longer advertisements, but longer commercials allow more time to tell a story and take viewers on an emotional journey, which increases brand recall and advertisement liking.
  • Short commercials...

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