How 'right-brained' TV ads attract and hold consumer attention – as well as drive emotion

Stephen Whiteside

Analysis by research company System1 and attention-tracking firm TVision have established that the same creative techniques deliver TV ads that perform strongly in terms of both emotion and attention.

Television spots can use the same creative techniques to maximise attention and emotional responses from viewers – but many ads ignore these best practices altogether.

Such insights emerged from an analysis of 195 TV commercials using the ad-ratings service developed by research firm System1, which hands each ad a score of between one and five stars depending on its emotional impact, and TVision, a measurement company that tracks attention.

Their results confirm that ‘right-brain’ ads– typically displaying qualities like a focus on well-defined characters, a clear sense of time and place, and meaningful relationships – outperform on both...

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