An eye-tracking study to examine the impacts of happy versus sad program-induced moods on brand attitude : the moderating role of advertising disclosure

This study uses eye-tracking technology to examine how television program-induced moods (sad vs. neutral vs. happy) affect viewers' attitudinal responses to brand placement and whether an advertising disclosure can moderate these effects. The respondents (N = 243) were exposed to an episode of a popular television series in which a brand was placed in a happy, sad, or neutral context, and the episode was either preceded by an advertising disclosure or not. The results showed that program-induced moods (happy vs. neutral vs. sad) had positive effects on brand attitude in the non-disclosed condition, whereas program-induced moods (happy vs. neutral/sad) had negative effects on brand attitude in the disclosed condition. Moreover, the mediating roles of viewers' attention allocation and activation of persuasion knowledge were significant only in the disclosed condition. These findings provide guidelines for firms in employing appropriate valences of placement contexts to promote brands and point to implications for policymakers in disclosing the persuasive intent of brand placement.