Popcorn Makes Moviegoers Forget Ads in a Jiffy - East Idaho News
News

Popcorn Makes Moviegoers Forget Ads in a Jiffy

  Published at  | Updated at

GETTY 101713 Popcorn?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1382003561455Wavebreak Media/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — There’s nothing like a big bucket of popcorn to make a movie more enjoyable. But if you’re an advertiser, that’s one of the last things you may want an audience member to be holding on their lap at the movies.

It turns out that chewing on popcorn or some other treat affects the way we process ads, according to a study out of Germany’s Cologne University.

Researchers say that when people see a new name, their mouths will subconsciously practice its pronunciation, helping them to remember it.  But when people chew, it renders this so-called “inner-speech” ineffective and makes them practically immune to the effects of advertising.

Researcher Sascha Topolinski suggests that if advertisers get wind of this study, they might try to prevent snacks from being sold at movie theater concessions.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION