TMT and Advertisement

Now a day almost every popular television show involves some component of death.  Main characters are no longer safe from being killed off and it is almost impossible to come up with a current show that does not have any element of death.  It is also impossible to watch television without ads coming up every 10 minutes; a recent study has shown that advertisements immediately following a death scene increase the effectiveness of those ads.  While one would think that a scene involving death would lower our desire for material consumption, Terror Management Theory explains why the opposite is true. TMT suggests when reminded of our own death we attempt to bolster our cultural values and self-esteem.  In America we value materialism and possession, so consuming becomes our way of fighting our death anxiety.

            In 2012, Ilan Dar-Nimrod conducted a series of studies in an attempt to prove these theories about death scenes and advertisement efficiency.  He showed two groups of participants two different, 10 minute clips from television shows, the control saw a scene which did not mention death, and the experimental group saw a scene in which an infant died of SIDS.  After the clip each group saw a series of comparable advertisements and were asked to rank them in various categories.  The results of the study showed a significant higher desire and willingness to buy for the products show immediately after viewing a death scene.  A second study was conducted similarly to replicate and expand the results, which they were. 

            This study is just one example of the power of Terror Management Theory, it shows how even fictional deaths can trigger our own death anxiety and cause us to act in ways we otherwise may not.  Even if it is unconscious, when we view the death of a character on a television show we become anxious about our own death and lose some self-confidence.  We begin to look for ways too sooth that anxiety and before we know advertisements are playing and an opportunity presents itself.  American values tell us material possessions are of high value and so the ads playing in front of us become more effective without us even realizing it.

            When looking back it is hard to find a real-life experience supporting this because for the most part it takes place below the conscious level, but one particular instance does stand out.  I was watching a show with my brother when one of our favorite characters died.  One the first commercials following that scene was for a pair of shoes I had been debating buying for a little bit and upon seeing the commercial decided to go online and buy them right then.  At the time I thought nothing of it but when reconsidering it is possible to see how the death of the character was able to influence my decision. 

            Terror Management Theory can be manifested in many ways, this is just one, but it is one that may not be considered right away.  One may not realized how consumerism is linked to a theory about death, but these studies clearly outline how they are related.  TMT may spread way further that we realize and this is just one example of it affecting something we would not normally consider.

DAR-NIMROD, I. (2012). Viewing Death on Television Increases the Appeal of Advertised Products. The Journal    of Social Psychology, 152(2), 199–211.

- Tom Haracz