RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Power of Direct Context As Revealed by Eye Tracking
JF Journal of Advertising Research
JO J Advert Res
FD WARC
SP 216
OP 227
DO 10.2501/JAR-55-2-216-227
VO 55
IS 2
A1 Edith G. Smit
A1 Sophie C. Boerman
A1 Lex van Meurs
YR 2015
UL http://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/55/2/216.abstract
AB Many previous studies on attention have ignored the eye-catching potential of “direct context”—the entire promotional and editorial content an observer can view at the same time—in print media. In the current study, characteristics of 183 magazine advertisements and their direct context were coded systematically and linked to eye-tracking data, producing more than 19,000 observations. Expanding on earlier research, the authors focused on fixations within an advertisement during the first five seconds and attention paid to the combined main elements of an advertisement. Results showed that direct context diverted visual attention, especially when featuring multiple colors and large amounts of text.