Viewers’ perception of animated commercials in Southwestern Nigeria

Animation has become a popular advertising technique on Nigerian television. Communication scholars have given considerable attention to viewers’ perception of conventional commercials, that is, those that use human talents, but little interest is expended on viewers’ perception of animated commercials. This paper investigates the perception of animated television commercials (ATVCs) by viewers in Southwestern Nigeria with a view to determining their effectiveness in promoting advertised products as measured by viewers’ behaviour. The study adopted Hermann von Helmholtz’s Theory of Perception, which examines the relationship between the reception of media content and audience behaviour. Twelve ATVCs that were aired on Nigerian television stations were purposively selected. Data were subjected to content analysis and descriptive analysis. The findings from the analysis revealed that viewers within the age group 21 and 40 (93.3%) prefer ATVCs to conventional TV commercials. Unlike the conventional TV commercials which exhibit familiar human characters, a majority of the viewers saw the use of animation as a more pleasurable, dynamic and attractive advertising technique. Hence, ATVCs have been positively perceived by viewers as effective advertising technique in Southwestern Nigeria

Animation · Content analysis · Media content · Perception · Television advertising · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Media Influence and Health · Media, Gender, and Advertising