Abstract:

This paper analyses one aspect of the quality of the television environment - commercial clutter - and its effects on viewers. Despite an increasing preponderance of evidence that clutter has a negative effect on commercial effectiveness commercial clutter continues to grow in the United States and other countries. The paper discusses studies that show why clutter is a problem for all of us and provides information on commercialization practices regulations and effects around the world. Finally the paper presents some solutions for dealing with the problem. One of the key issues in media research today is advertising effectiveness. Research has shown that there are many factors in the media environment that impact upon advertising effectiveness. Advertising clutter is one of those factors and it has been growing in a number of countries.