A new study from Cologne University suggests that enjoying popcorn during a movie does more than satisfy your craving for something crunchy and salty, as chewing may make us immune to advertising.
When we see and hear advertisements, our mouths and lips automatically simulate the pronunciation of brand names and slogans, a form of "inner speech" that researchers have realized chewing may disturb. While this effect may work on our still mouths, a mouthful of popcorn can effectively render the so-called "repetition effect" redunant, the Guardian reports.
To test this hypothesis, researchers invited 96 people to watch a movie that was proceeded by advertisements. Half of participants were given popcorn, while half were given sugar cubes which immediately dissolved in their mouths.
A week later, subjects were asked to rate a number of products, some of which had shown up in the film's advertisements. Those who had eaten the sugar cubes rated the advertised products higher and had more positive psychological responses than those who had eaten the popcorn.
"The mundane activity of eating popcorn made participants immune to the pervasive effects of advertising," Sascha Topolinski, one of the researchers of the study, told the Guardian.
Could this mark the end of refreshments being sold in theaters?
"This finding suggests that selling candy in cinemas actually undermines advertising effects, which contradicts present marketing strategies. In the future, when promoting a novel brand, advertising clients might consider trying to prevent candy being sold before the main movie."
The latest study from Cologne University was published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.
