Cha pte r 4

Data Analysis

The following six tables illustrate the data for the Likert statements on the survey

instrument. The statement “I hate advertisements and commercials that are shown before a movie

at theaters.” was cross-tabbed with age of the respondents. Since 79% of all moviegoers are age

18-49 (an overwhelming majority) 30 seemed a good middle spot to create a demarcation of

differing cultural and age differences.

Table 1

“I hate advertisements and commercials that are shown before a movie in theaters.” by

age group.

Age SA A N D SD Totals
Under 30 10 05 5 15 15 50 (50%)
(20%) (10%) (10%) (30%) (30%)
30 and above 20 20 (40%) 2 (4%) 5 3 (6%) 50 (50%)
(40%) (10%)
Total 30 25 (25%) 7 (7%) 20 18 100 (100%)
(30%) (20%) (18%)

If the results were valid, it could be concluded that adults over age 30 are generally more likely

to be offended by advertising in movie theatres than adults less than 30 years of age. If the data

was from an actual survey, it would also imply that the younger demographic have a more

accepting attitude toward advertising as a whole.

Affluent viewers are popular targets for a lot of advertising, including TV advertising.

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Because they are bombarded by promotional messages so often and because they are more

frequent purchasers, affluent consumers are likely to be more jaded in their reactions to all

advertising, including TV advertising. More affluent people tend to watch television less often

than less affluent people (Condry, 1989). When they do watch, presumably it is because they

expect to get gratification from the programming. Those affluent viewers who anticipate

enjoying TV programs are more likely to find TV advertising intrusive. Also, those affluent

viewers who are more sophisticated about television advertising are more likely to be offended

when it does not fulfill their expectations. H1a: Affluent viewers who find TV advertising

intrusive are expected to dislike TV advertising. H1b: Affluent viewers who are offended by TV

advertising are expected to dislike it more (Alwitt & Prabhaker, 1994) . This idea would connect

the results of Nielson Media Research, 1997 of audience demographics of adult moviegoers that

shows that 44% are in professional managerial positions, 46% are college educated, 46% are

male, 54% are female, 50% of all moviegoers are ages 18-34, 70% combine dining out with

seeing a movie and 79% of all moviegoers are ages 18-49. Since education is often associated

with affluence and income, the household income of the respondent survey was

Household Income Moviegoers % of Population

$30,000 + 75% 60%
$50,000 52% 35%
$100,000 17% 7%

Source: Nielson Media Research, 1997