The effects of multitasking and mood on ad memory: in the case of a competitive ad context

This study examines the effects of mood and multitasking on ad memory in a competitive advertising context. Previous studies have examined how mood triggered holistic and analytic processing styles, and how processing style interacted with multitasking to influence ad memory. However, no previous study had examined these interactive effects in a competitive ad context. The results showed that, while media multitasking had a detrimental effect on brand recognition, processing style that was triggered by mood did not affect ad memory. Furthermore, results showed that brand recognition for participants with a holistic processing style, which was induced by a positive mood, were less likely to be negatively affected by media multitasking when the number of tasks increased. This contrasted participants with an analytic processing style that was induced by a negative mood, who were more negatively affected by media multitasking when the number of tasks increased. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed