Journal of Robotics, Networking and Artificial Life, Vol. 3, No. 2 (September 2016), 92-95

A Viewing Experiment on the Effects of Advertising Story
Yoji Kawamura

Faculty of Business Administration, Kindai University,
Address3-4-1 Kowakae
Higashi-osaka, Osaka 577-8502, Japan
E-mail: kawamura@bus.kindai.ac.jp

Abstract
This research lays out the conception and functions of developed Commercial Film Production Support System(CFPSS). The research then explains the results of a viewing experiment that utilized CFPSS. In this experiment
where commercial films of beer were utilized, the following findings were obtained: in inducing interest, theevaluation of image type of advertising story is high; in stimulating willingness to buy, the evaluation of provider
type is high; and mise-en-scène or editing attracts interest and the advertising story associated with product function
and the supporting production and distribution stimulates willingness to buy. These findings gradually clarify thefollowing creative know-how of the creator; to attract consumer interests by focusing on the stories of consumer
situations in case consumers do not aware or understand their products or services; to arouse their willingness tobuy by focusing on the products and stories of their acceptance and effects in case consumers have a certain level ofunderstanding and interests in products or services.
Keywords: Commercial Film, Advertising Story, Editing, Viewing Experiment, Interest, Willingness to Buy

1. Introduction
There are case studies into effective commercial films
with a focus on marketing and advertisement.1 Some ofthese studies include elements of advertising expressionthat have been classified and extracted to enhance
advertising effects. Alternatively, other studies
classifying advertising expressions according to thenature of the information (comparative, unique sellingproposition, preemptive, hyperbole, generic-informatic),
and the nature of transformation (user image, brandimage, use occasion, generic-transformatic) examine theideas of advertising expressions.2 However, thesestudies provide insight into advertising expressions froma particular vantage point, and are not conducive todeveloping specific rules for creating images at themicrocosm level.

Related to print advertisements (text, photo, poster etc.),
studies examine an interpretation and analysis of theeffect of advertising rhetoric on viewers.3,4,5 However,these studies do not include analyses related tocommercial films.
This paper aims to extract rules to create more specificexpressions of commercial films based on a viewing
experiment using CFPSS.
This experiment aims to show how an advertising story
influences viewers using commercial films derived fromthe four types of advertising stories generated from theimage shots that were likely related to the viewer’s
associations and experiences.

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Yoji Kawamura

3. Viewing Experiment

2. CFPSSFig. 1 shows the plan of CFPSS.6 The concept ofCFPSS is to generate the various commercial films
adapted to the user’s keywords and sentences (lifescenario) input. CFPSS includes a database of 3643
image shots converted to a commercial film, thatsearches and classifies image shots based on keywords
and sentences. The system includes a function togenerate the storyboard based on the selection ofadvertising story, and playback in the order arranged inthe storyboard. The menu of advertising story is asfollows;7• Provider story type (PT): The primary structure
expresses the provider’s story (production anddistribution, product function, effect on company).
This is the “story of the product” and “story of thecompany.”• Consumer story type (CT): This primary structure
expresses consumers’ stories (consumption
situation, product acceptance, consumption effect).
This is the “story of consumption.”• Overall type (OT): This structure generally
expresses both the provider’s and consumer’sstories. This is represented as PT + CT.
• Image type (IT): This structure expresses images
related to the consumer situation, though does not
express product acceptance and consumptioneffects in the film. Rather this structure represents aproduct function. This category also includes
structures expressing an image that does not belong
to the consumer, provider, or product function.

Fig. 1. CFPSS Plan.

3.1. Data and Method
In this experiment, commercial films of beer wereutilized. For the study, 55 viewers provided four to fiveassociated keywords about beer and simple sentences(approximately one to two lines) about the relationshipbetween beer and the viewer. The sample included 28
male and 27 female participants between from 20 to 23years of age. The input from the viewers included such
keywords and statements as:• Asahi, foam, throat, bitter, mug• A glass to drink when tired, such as after working apart-time job, is the best.
• Foam, twenty, summer, baseball, green soybeans• The body gets itchy after drinking a beer.
• Alcohol, throat, bitter, taste, foam
The database was then searched for images using asummary of the viewers’ sentences as input. An
advertising story was selected from the OT, PT, CT, andIT types, and the generated image shot shown toviewers who provided their evaluations and feedbackfor each.
3.2. Results
Table 1 summarizes the image shot composition andorder of the generated commercial film. The numbers in
the advertising story columns indicate the order of theshots. Fig. 2 reports the viewer evaluations of interest
and willingness to buy related to the four types ofcommercial films. IT has a greatest evaluation forinterest, while PT has a greatest evaluation forwillingness to buy.

Fig. 2. Interest and willingness to buy by advertising story.

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A Viewing Experiment on

Table 1. Image shot composition and order of the generated commercial film.
Advertising
Phase
Production
Distribution

StoryandConsumption
Situation

Advertising Story
OTPTCT
11232453124

Product Function

Product Acceptance
Consumption Effect
Effect on Company

5678910367891045678910IT

12345678910

Abstract of Shots
Introduction of the production area of the beer
Production process of the beer (low-temperature aging)Transporting the beer tank
The cook sings a song while cooking
The products are being transported on the belt conveyor
A lifesaver monitoring the sea
A man walking toward home
Appear to drink a beer, even without a glass
People talking to the camera man
The consumers asked to tour the factory
People talking at the stock exchange
People preparing meal at the poolside
Attempting to borrow a bottle opener for beer at a seaside house
Catch the copy of a product “All for Delight”
Promotion of urban scenery and the productFoam spilling from the beer mug
Canned beer breaking the ice
Consumer drinking beer in the cupDrinking beer while socializing
Making a toast with a large number of people
Making a mysterious face
Drinking beer and recounting funny stories
Urban (overseas, China) scenery

The summary below shows the consolidated contents
for films that stimulate interest and willingness to buy
for items with responses in more than two cases. The
frequency of comments is indicated in parentheses.
3.2.1. Areas of Interest
Primarily related to the advertising story (including
advertising concept):• Copy added: “All for the customer’s ‘delight’!!” (4)• Acceptance added: Demonstrations of an energetic
way of drinking (2)• Production added: When the provider’s efforts toprovide delicious beer is apparent (3)Primarily related to mise-en-scène:• Product: When the beer is widely zoomed in (2)• Buddy added: Where there are many people arehaving fun (6)• Scene added: Scene showing that the beer isactually consumed with a gesture, even in theabsence of a glass (14)Primarily related to editing:• Connection: The plot unravels gradually (2) / Thereis a perceived association from the creation of aprofessional story extending to the consumer’sconsumption (2)•Irregularity: The type of commercial message wasinitially unknown (2)3.2.2. Willingness to Buy
Primarily related to the advertising story (includingadvertising concept):• Copy added: Deceived by the phrase “All for thecustomer’s ‘delight’!!” (7)• Situation added: A scene depicting drinking in abar, imagining that the cuisine was easy (3) / A
scene of a man going home (2)• Acceptance added: Many scenes indicating productconsumption (7)• Effects added: The beer was consumed with zest(4)• Production added: The story clearly shows theproducer’s efforts to provide delicious beer (2)Primarily related to mise-en-scène:• Product: The beer overflows from the cup (2) / Thebeer package in ice representing the chill anddelight (3)• Scene added: Drinking beer with a gesture isimpressive (2)Published by Atlantis Press
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Yoji Kawamura

3.3. Discussion

4. Conclusion

3.3.1. Interest and Willingness to Buy

An experiment using commercial films for beer
generated the following findings:• The IT type created the most interest through avariety of image shots.
• The PT type stimulated the highest willingness tobuy using a variety of image shots showing theproduct function and the associated production anddistribution.
• Mise-en-scène or editing attracts interest, and theadvertising story associated with product function
and the supporting production and distribution
stimulates willingness to buy.
These findings gradually clarify the relationshipbetween the commercial film techniques and theireffects and significantly contribute to the symbolizationand systematization of creator’s inherent creative knowhow.

The IT type generated a high level of interest through avariety of image shots. However, the willingness to buy
was highest for the PT type using image shots focusing
on the product’s function and production anddistribution.
Fig. 3 summarizes the results in terms of interest andwillingness to buy, or to the films’ representation
techniques (advertising story, mise-en-scène, editing).
The results indicate that mise-en-scène and editing
attracts interest, and the advertising story associatedwith the product function and illustrating production
and distribution stimulates willingness to buy.
3.3.2. Strategic Rules of Advertising
From these results, it is conceivable to set the following
strategicor
tacticalrulesofadvertisingcommunications. These rules are applicable to theintelligent robot that has know-how of advertisingcommunication between robot and human being.
• For the unfamiliar people for products, the robot
stimulates the people’s interest by presenting thewonder or extraordinary scene and information (forexample, the environment or scene that the products
are hidden consciously, the scene where there has
been a lot of people etc.).
• The robot tries to grasp whether the people’sinterest has been evoked. If the people’s interest has
been aroused, the robot stimulates the willingness
to buy by presenting a scene of functions,
acceptance and effects of the product.

Acknowledgements
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant
Number 22500102.
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Fig. 3. Areas of interest and the willingness to buy.

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