Abstract:

This paper presents two studies on intermedia comparison between cinema and television. Research compared overall recall, recall of details - both of sound and image - acceptation and refusal, credibility and the variations of brand image concerning the same commercial, which was presented to two groups: on TV and on a cinema screen. If global recall scores are similar for the two medias, the perception and recall of details are stronger for TV. The variation of the brand-image is linked, on the one hand, to recall and good understanding of the message (a strong point for the movies) and on the other to the image viewers have of the media. Comprehension and therefore precise interpretation of the message is related to exposure. Such understanding and acceptation may be attained with cinema after a single exposure, whereas more than three contacts may provoke negative reactions. No such lower or upper limits may be determined for television. Consumer reaction in the case of these two medias is related, on the one hand, to such physical characteristics of the media as the quality of sound, the size of the image and colour: and,on the other, to life-style and the expectations of "heavy consumers" of each media.