When attention-grabbing tactics backfire during media multitasking: The detrimental effect of atypical advertising slogans on brand attitude

Emerging technologies have transformed traditional single-screen viewing into a new form of audience behavior called media multitasking (e.g. surfing the internet while watching TV). This shared attention in media-multitasking situations poses a challenge to media planers when attracting the audience’s attention. However, attention-grabbing tactics might backfire on companies as they make manipulative intent salient and, therefore, decrease levels of brand attitude. This study advances the extant research by challenging the suitability of silence as an attention-grabbing practice in advertising during media multitasking. More specifically, we test if atypical (i.e. silent) slogans in TV commercials impact on consumers’ evaluation of brand-related information when media multitasking. Utilizing a one-factor (two-level) between-subject laboratory experiment (N = 66), this study examined participants’ feelings of manipulation and brand attitude when exposed to typical versus atypical TV advertising slogans in a media-multitasking situation. The results demonstrate that a typical TV advertising slogan (i.e. audio in addition to vision) during media multitasking results in lower salience of manipulative intent compared to an atypical slogan (i.e. silent) and positively impacts on brand attitude.