Loaded with fun? An experimental study into enjoyment and cognitive load as determinants of in-game advertising retention.

There is considerable disagreement in the literature on the processing of in-game advertising. Several studies have shown that, in line with flow theory, enjoyment increases retention. Others have yielded opposite results, suggesting that the higher cognitive load associated with flow may have an adverse effect. This is in line with Lang's limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing. In order to disentangle the effects of enjoyment and cognitive load, this study employed a 2 (high and low enjoyment) by 2 (high and low cognitive load) between-subjects experimental design (N = 561). Findings showed an overall negative effect of cognitive load on recall. Enjoyment had an independent negative effect on free recall in the high-load condition and on implicit recall in the low-load condition. These results suggest that enjoyment may in some cases divert cognitive resources away from brand information independently from overall cognitive load. Implications for advertisers are discussed.

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