Moviegoers' Experiences and Interpretations of Brands in Films Revisited

Abstract

The article provides further phenomenological understanding of how brand props are interpreted within the everyday lived experience of the movie audience. Building on previous focus group research and on the grounded theory perspective of social science, the authors gathered first-person audiotaped accounts of experiences with brand props as interpreted in relation to movies, movieviewing, and social experience. Eight focus groups and 30 depth interviews of nonstudent movieviewers who differed in age bracket and moviegoing frequency were conducted. Constant comparative analysis uncovered three themes related to movie centrality and four themes related to consumption-specific aspects of everyday life. The findings reveal that regardless of age or moviegoing frequency, the informants were active participants in the viewing experience and actively interpreted brands encountered in movies. However, to the older moviegoers brands in movies symbolized social change whereas to the younger informants, they symbolized belonging and security. The authors conclude with implications for advertising practitioners and recommendations for future research.