Enhancing the Efficacy of Split Thirty-Second Television Commercials : An Encoding Variability Application

The split 30-second commercial format has become a regular feature of today's television advertising. Yet, little is known about the effectiveness of commercials presented in the two halves of a split: 30. The authors report findings from a laboratory experiment in which the similarity of commercials presented in the two halves of a split: 30 format was systematically varied. In a factorial design, subjects were exposed to either two identical: 15s, two very similar: 15s, or two very different: 15s for the same brand. Memory of the advertised brand was measured after either a short interval (within a few minutes of message exposure) or a long interval (the next day). Results provide preliminary support for the assertion that presenting identical: 15s leads to better memory after short intervals and presenting different: 15s produces better memory after long intervals. The findings are explained through a variation of the encoding variability theory