“I like the sound of that”: understanding the effectiveness of audio in ads

Abstract

PurposeSports advertisements such as the Super Bowl showcase products and brands that have invested increasingly large sums financially to gain viewers’ attention. However, how audio features in advertisements impact viewers' behavior remains unexplored.Design/methodology/approachUsing the lens of signaling theory, this research uses advanced data analytics of voice and music audio in Super Bowl advertisements to examine its impacts on viewers.FindingsResults show that advertisement viewers prefer more voiced frames and have a greater liking behavior of voiced frames with a low intensity (less loud) and a higher F1 frequency, which is typically associated with male vocal tracts. A fast music tempo works better for longer advertisements. The model controls for various types of ad appeals. The research underlines the importance of voice and music in signaling successful brand features that are likely to increase the ad-liking behavior of consumers (positive effect).Research limitations/implicationsThe current research implies that brands advertising through sports ads must carefully select voice actors and music in order to provide the most positive signals for a brand to have the most significant effect and, thus, a greater return on the high sums invested in the ads.Originality/valueFirst, this research contributes in terms of a new research process for using audio analytics in advertising. The detailed research process outlined can be used for future research examining audio and music from advertisements. Second, our findings provide additional support to the important role of voice features (e.g. intensity and frequency) as signals in inducing responses from consumers (Biswas et al., 2019; Hagtvedt and Brasel, 2016). Third, the study surfaces a new theoretical association: the effect of tempo in moderating the relationship between duration and propensity to like an ad.