Cinemas claim popcorn is too tasty and diverting attention from adverts

Posted by empirepopcorn on July 26th, 2014

Could it be one of the most ridiculous things you’ve heard this year or simply fact? With the UK’s popcorn industry worth a reported £40 million it’s glaringly obvious the snack is well loved but is it loved so much that it’s actually diverting filmgoer’s attentions away from the big screen?

For over fifty years delicious popcorn from the likes of Empire Popcorn and Confectionary Company has been cinemagoers favourite snack of choice and it’s no wonder. With so many great health benefits such as it’s low calorie and fat content and high antioxidant and fibre levels, it’s a snack that we can enjoy guilt free that actually tastes great too. On top of this however, it seems there may now be yet another reason to enjoy popcorn at the cinema and at home.

Whether it’s the giant cinema screen or our own flat screen TV at home, researchers have found that people who eat popcorn over other sweets are less likely to spend money on the advertised brands. It all sounds rather far fetched but just wait until you hear the science behind it. Apart from being generally persuasive and making us believe that our lives would be enriched with their product, adverts work by connecting with our subconscious. Our brains react in a highly complex way to adverts and they’re designed specifically to take advantage of this by reinforcing brand awareness.

Evidence has suggested that as consumers we subconsciously mouth and pronounce the brand names of products displayed in front of us whilst we’re glued to the screen however interrupt this process and its effectiveness is severely reduced. Sucking on sweets or simply spooning ice cream into our mouths like robots allows this process to happen with eyes firmly fixed on the screen but introduce popcorn into the equation and it’s a different story. Whether it’s because we want to see where we’re putting our hands or because we want to avoid spilling it all over ourselves is unknown but what we do know is that when we eat popcorn our eyes continually leave the screen. Therefore scientists have suggested it isn’t just a distraction but an interference with the whole familiarisation process that inhibits the adverts effectiveness entirely.

It was nearly 80 years ago when psychologists first learnt that repeated exposure to a word or name left people subconsciously pronouncing it however, whether you like sweet popcornor even toffee flavoured you can now avoid the impact it has on you simply by enjoying your favourite snack. Enjoy popcorn all the more now by trying some more adventurous flavours from Empire Popcorn and Confectionary Company such as their Hot Madras or Spicy Thai all the while knowing you’ll fall victim to a lot less annoying adverts.