Contextual Priming Effects of Television Programs on Commercials: The Moderating Effects of Age

This study investigated whether age and its associated implicit memory deficits influences responses to contextual television advertising. Prior exposure to the advertised product or brand during a program should improve recall and brand attitude for contextual commercials. The results of a lab experiment, with participants ranging in age from 19 to 78, revealed that unbranded product appearances significantly improved recall, compared to normal unprimed commercials, but only for younger consumers. Branded product appearances did not significantly improve recall, compared to unbranded appearances. Contextual commercials had no positive effects on brand attitude. However, a competitor-brand appearance had a negative effect on brand attitude, for both older and younger consumers. Implications of these results, and their limitations, are discussed.