Are 60-second ads twice as effective as 30-second ads?

Andrew Green

This paper asks whether the recent trend among advertisers towards favouring shorter television commercials is a sensible one, or if longer advertisements do in fact yield better product recall.

Are 60-Sec ads twice as effective as 30-Sec Ads?

Andrew Green ZenithOptimedia

There has been a clear trend over the past 40 years to running shorter-length TV commercials.

In 1965, 77% of all US network TV commercials lasted 60 seconds, a share which dropped to 27% five years later and has since fallen to 7% (2004).

Allan R. Kuse and Margaret H. Blair, , Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 44, No. 1, March 2004, pp.71–89 Colin McDonald, , Admap, March 1995 John L. Stanton and Jeffrey Burke, , Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 38, No. 6, November/December 1998

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

Learn more Get a demo

WARC consistently delivers valuable insights that help to make me look like an expert in front of my colleagues and clients.

Dasha Boryso
Strategy Partner, Fetch

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands