London - Sweet or salty, flavoured with butter or toffee – however you like it, for many of us a nice serving of popcorn is part and parcel of a trip to the movies.
But according to scientists, cinemas should consider banning the snack before screenings – because the act of chewing stops us absorbing any of the adverts.
The study, conducted by a group of German psychologists, found the phenomenon wasn’t simply a case of distraction. Instead they discovered that when we see a new brand name, we subconsciously repeat the name in our heads until it becomes familiar.
However, if the brain is tied up with telling the mouth to chew it won’t register the name at all – and the advert loses its effect.
The scientists, from the University of Wuerzburg, took students to watch adverts for beer, crisps, painkillers and other products.
Some were given popcorn while others sucked on a sugar cube, which gave them the sensation of sweetness but dissolved without needing to be chewed.
A week later, they were shown a selection of products and were asked how much they liked them.
The students who were given sugar cubes were far more likely to want to buy the brands they had already seen advertised.
But the people who had been given popcorn to chew tended not to recognise the brand names, and were less likely to want to buy their products.
Lead researcher Dr Sascha Topolinski said: ‘The mundane activity of eating popcorn made participants immune to the pervasive effects of advertising.
‘In future when promoting a novel brand, advertising clients might consider trying to prevent it being sold before the movie.’ - Daily Mail