Strategies for Creating Successful Soundless Video Advertisements

Abstract

Video advertising is increasingly prevalent, appearing in more and more places across the web and on social media. In many of these contexts ads are typically viewed without sound, possibly impacting their effectiveness and meaning. In this paper we draw on advertising and screen media research, analyze ads drawn from both articles and an agency dataset, and also interview advertising professionals experienced with soundless video in order to build novel understanding of the phenomenon of soundless advertising. Our analysis reveals four strategies and associated operational tactics that advertisers can employ to develop more successful ads for soundless environments. Management Slant • Video ads created for a sound-on environment typically do not perform well when viewed without sound, and subtitles are typically not an effective solution. • In order to be successful in an online environment, video advertising should be designed assuming it will be played soundlessly. • Silence removes an important source of information for viewers and necessitates the use of compensatory strategies to remain effective. • Advertising testing should be conducted with sound both on and off.

Can muted video advertising be as effective as video advertising with sound?

“…On Facebook, 85% of video advertising is watched without sound, to avoid annoying others (Patel 2016), and usually on a mobile phone (Statista 2019). But little is known about the effectiveness of silent video advertisements (Campbell and Pearson 2019). In this study, we compare the effectiveness of video ads seen across three conditions: (1) normally (with sound), (2) muted (silent), and (3) muted with subtitles.…”

“…Advertising theory suggests that muting will reduce the effectiveness of video advertising, because sound enhances motivation, opportunity, and ability to process (Campbell and Pearson 2019;MacInnis et al 1991). Dual-coding theory (Paivio 1986) explains how sound provides additional neural pathways for recall (Bryce and Yalch 1993;Leigh 1991).…”

“…But Facebook provides examples of muted ads that use subtitles to compensate for the loss of sound (Facebook 2016a). More recently, Campbell and Pearson (2019) have identified four strategies, derived from advertising and screen media research, for creating successful muted video advertising. They analyzed a database of 3484 online video ads, 88% of which had been seen without sound (e.g., on Facebook).…”

“…Finally, they interviewed eight professionals who developed advertising that worked without sound. Potentially, the four techniques Campbell and Pearson (2019) identified improve video advertising to the point where ads are equally effective whether they are seen normally, with sound, or muted, without sound. We test these four strategies using traditional advertising effectiveness measures, such as brand recall and ad liking.…”

“…We also investigate a potential moderator of the effects of muting on advertising effectiveness (Campbell and Pearson 2019). Viewing muted ads on a mobile device vs. a computer may be associated with differences in advertising processing (MacInnis et al 1991).…”