The First Eye Tracking Omnibus Of 2017 Revealed The Bad Breath Co. As The Winners!

80 nationally representative participants read a digitised copy of The Metro while their eye movements were recorded, to reveal which ad gained the most attention.

The Bad Breath Co. get straight to the point with their statement headline and large product image, instantly telling the audience what they are offering. Print ads only have a short time-frame to engage and relay a message, so this is an important tactic!

The ad had 14% higher standout and 0.6″ longer of engagement compared to the expected norm

The product image engaged over half the readers for an average of 1.5″. However, this image also includes product and brand info, which is why we may see these long dwell times.

Although this ad has a striking headline and product image it isn’t all squeaky clean! The extra copy, under the logo, uses very small and difficult to read font that readers are likely to ignore.

The Science-y Bit

Layout is a key factor of performance. Psychological studies have revealed that stimuli presented in the left visual field is processed by the right hemisphere and vice versa.

Since our right hemisphere is better suited to processing pictorial info and the left hemisphere to logical/verbal info, by placing images on the left and text on the right of ads (like The Bad Breath Co.) processing fluency should increase, allowing readers to digest the ad quicker. (Grobelny & Michalski, 2015).