Breaking News English

The adverts people see at the movies are less effective when people eat popcorn. This is the conclusion of a study from a German University. Researchers said people remember the names of brands or products by silently pronouncing them. However, with a mouth full of popcorn, this process is broken. The report is titled "Popcorn in the Cinema: Oral Interference Sabotages Advertising Effects". It describes how chewing interferes with the brain's "inner speech" that works whenever we see or hear a new name. Researchers say this happens without us thinking about it.

Dr Sascha Topolinski asked people to watch a movie. Half of them ate popcorn; the rest had a sugar cube. A week later, the group rated various products, including some of those advertised during the movie. The sugar cube group remembered more of the products than the popcorn group. Topolinski said: "The mundane activity of eating popcorn made participants immune to the pervasive effects of advertising." He added that his research suggests that selling candy in cinemas is bad for advertisers. Cinema owners now have a dilemma. There is usually a 900% mark-up on their popcorn.