Football Spectators’ Attention to Advertising: Gender Perspective

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to quantitatively measure the role of spectators’ gender in the intensity of their attention to advertising during a football match. Subsequently, it aims to answer the question: Does gender affect attention to advertising? Methods: Adopted a semi-experimental research design to collect data on viewers' attention to advertisements using eye tracking. In addition, a mixed between-within ANOVA and t-test were conducted to test the research hypotheses. Results: The research findings showed that viewer gender significantly affected the attention to the ads. In fact, in this research, women paid more attention to advertisements while watching football than men. Conclusion: While there is a plethora of evidence in advertising that supports the positive effects of various advertising types and locations on viewer attention, little is known about the role of gender differences on viewer attention when watching a football match on TV. This study contributes to the existing knowledge in advertising research by offering a series of research agendas on the key indicators of advertising effectiveness, especially consumer attention. More specifically, the study seeks to improve the understanding of advertising effectiveness by measuring consumers' neurophysiological responses to advertising messages.