Thin Slice Impressions: How Advertising Evaluation Depends on Exposure Duration

Abstract

This research demonstrates the importance of thin slices of information in ad and brand evaluation, with important implications for advertising research and management. Three controlled experiments, two in the behavioral lab and one in the field, with exposure durations ranging from very brief (100 msec) to very long (30 sec), demonstrate that advertising evaluation critically depends on the duration of ad exposure and on how ads convey which product and brand they promote, but in surprising ways. The experiments show that upfront ads, which instantly convey what they promote, are evaluated positively after brief but also after longer exposure durations. Mystery ads, which suspend conveying what they promote, are evaluated negatively after brief but positively after longer exposure durations. False front ads, which initially convey another identity than what they promote, are evaluated positively after brief exposures but negatively after longer exposure durations. Bayesian mediation analysis demonstrates that the feeling of knowing what the ad promotes accounts for these ad-type effects on evaluation.