Captions in Pharmaceutical Commercials:

The effect of video captions on viewers attention and understanding of technical content

Jacek Gwizdka

jacekg@ischool.utexas.edu

Caroline O’Meara

caroline.omeara@utexas.edu

Han Han

han_han@utexas.edu

Whitney Pittard

whp10a@acu.edu

INTRODUCTION

Closed captions are frequently included in videos, including commercials. This project combines eye-tracking technology and survey research to study how captions might affect viewers’ attention and affect their experience of watching commercials. The study focuses on medical commercials where viewers are exposed to the technical content. The subjects watched commercials with and without captions. We evaluated their attention with eye-tracking equipment and their retention and experience with questionnaires. Studying attention, retention, and experience in commercials is important for analyzing the value of a brand’s advertisement when reaching a target market. Since commercials are expensive and time-consuming for a brand to develop and launch, an advertisement should be compelling and effective.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

RQ1

Do subtitles effect audience attention with pharmaceutical commercials containing technical content?

RQ2

Can captions help viewers understand technical content in commercials when compared to viewers’ understanding after watching a commercial without captions?

RQ3

Do captions help viewers remember technical information when compared to how much viewers’ remember after watching a commercial without captions?

RQ4

Do captions effect the experience of watching commercials with technical content?

METHODOLOGY

  • Eye-tracking using Tobii 300 eye-tracker and iMotions Attention Tool software
  • Qualtrics questionnaires after each video and an additional one at the end of the session
  • Qualtrics questionnaires three weeks later using join.me or in-person screen sharing

    • Participants

    12 adults
    9 participated in follow-up
    Average age of 28
    7 women and 5 men
    Most with a four-year degree


    Procedure

    IRB approval
    Within-subject design
    Simple randomization
    Qualtrics questionnaires
    Remote screen-sharing

    RESULTS

    Percentage of subjects who correctly identified what symptoms are treated by the drugs in the commercial.

    Percentage of subjects who correctly identified the warnings in the commercials they just watched.

    Participants’ mental demand rating from very low to very high for videos without and with captions

    Participants’ overall reaction rating from terrible to wonderful for videos without and with captions.

    Participants’ rated feeling rushed or hurried from very low to very high for videos without and with captions.

    Participants’ overall reaction rating from dull to stimulating for videos without and with captions.

    Participants’ overall reaction rating from frustrating to satisfying for videos without and with captions.

    Participants’ overall reaction rating from frustrating to satisfying for videos without and with captions.

    Participants overall impressions of the commercials at the end of the session.

    Percent of time spent in dynamic AOIs for the captioned video for Pristiq.

    Percent of time spent in dynamic AOIs for the captioned video for Requip.

    FINDINGS

  • Participants consistently had a more positive experience watching the videos with captions and felt more comfortable with the content.
  • Users retained information from both captioned and non-captioned videos when asked about them three-weeks later.
  • Participants looked at the captions the most when the commercials discussed side effects and the least during the technical discussion of chemical compounds.
  • When the commercials had familiar phrases (“talk to your doctor”), they looked at the captions the least.

    • LESSONS LEARNED

  • While we didn’t want to tire our users out with a long questionnaire, more questions at the end of the session would have revealed more about what they retained.
  • Three of the four commercials featured women, and the majority of our subjects were women, this may have skewed the results. We chose gender-neutral products, but future studies could look for more gender-neutral advertisements or balance the gender of the featured patients more evenly.

    • RECOMMENDATIONS

  • The captions increased viewers’ positive experience of the commercials. This creates a positive outcome for advertisers and might increase the amount of information retained. Therefore, adding captions to pharmaceutical commercials would be a low-cost way to increase the commercials’ effectiveness.
  • The focus on subtitles was greater when the text related to personal well being, like side effects. Pharmaceutical commercials should try to make content as related as possible to attract greater attention to the product and prevent consumers from getting lost in technical jargon.