TV ads often use superimposed text (‘supers’) to qualify headline claims and avoid misleading audiences. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has the responsibility of ensuring that supers are clear and comprehensible. Doing so, however, requires understanding how viewers use supers in real-life settings.

Working with the ASA, we conducted qualitative and observational research with a broad cross-section of the public to understand how consumers used and made sense of supers when viewing advertisements in home. The research also examined if and how use differed across socio-economic groups, genders, life-stages and TV setups.

We found that whilst there was general agreement on the importance of supers amongst viewers, they were frequently illegible. In practice, supers were also rarely noticed, meaning important messages were not getting across. Engagement with supers varied across life stage, for example those with families were more likely to be watching adverts for financial products and utilities, where ‘small print’ was seen as important.

To assist with ensuring regulatory standards on supers meet consumer needs in the future, the research findings identified factors that aid viewers in seeing and understanding supers, including strong contrast between text and background, larger font size and the use of static backgrounds.

To find out more, see the online report here: https://www.asa.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/6726fa46-afbe-4a70-a18c245168d3043d.pdf