Television Advertising that Works: An Analysis of Commercials fro ...

Chapter 2

Background

Television combines sight and sound to give the media consumer and advertiser benefits unavailable from any other media. Television has the ability to be true to life and pervasive (Katz, 2003). According to a study conducted by Veronis, Suhler, and Stevensen (2002) the average person will spend 1,745 hours a year with television. Compare this to 1,002 hours with radio, 184 hours with recorded music, 171 hours with newspapers, 176 hours with the Internet, and 121 hours with magazines. Daily time with television has also increased over the last decade. In 1970, the average household viewed close to six hours a day while in 2004 the average household viewed over eight hours (Nielsen Media Research [NMR], 2004). The reach of television far exceeds other Media with 90% of adults 18+ viewing some television per day compared to radio at 73% reach, newspapers at 65%, the Internet at 51% reach, and magazines reaching 48% of adults per day (NMR, 2003). Television is central to the lives and culture of America.