We live in an age of endless scrolling, streaming, and swiping. TikTok, Instagram, Netflix, BBC iPlayer — and a barrage of notifications — constantly compete for our attention. In this fragmented landscape, attention is scarce, fleeting, and fiercely contested. For advertisers, the question is no longer just how to be seen but how to be remembered.
Thinkbox’s groundbreaking study, Earning Attention: Vision and Sound in Advertising, conducted with Dr. Alastair Goode (Gorilla in the Room) and Professor Polly Dalton (Royal Holloway, University of London), provides a powerful new perspective. Using a combination of eye-tracking, biometric testing, and academic-level experimentation, it explores how visual and auditory elements interact to shape ad effectiveness in the real world — where distractions are the norm, not the exception.
The headline insight is clear: sound is the unsung hero of modern advertising. When viewers are distracted, they are 20% more likely to remember what they hear than what they see. In an environment where eyes may wander, ears remain open — making audio branding, voiceovers, and music crucial drivers of recall and emotional connection.
Watching TV keeps audiences’ attention. Watching ads on TV does not. While viewers may remain physically present, their mental focus often drifts — towards second screens, conversations, or multitasking. The Thinkbox research set out to quantify how much attention remains for ads when this happens — and how brands can make the most of it.
Dr. Goode’s team conducted a series of controlled experiments, exposing participants to ads while performing common secondary tasks such as texting, browsing social media, listening to music, or talking. Using memory testing to measure what “got through,” the study found that auditory attention is more resilient than visual attention across almost all forms of distraction.
Even when cognitive load is high, there is still “plenty left over for the ads afterwards.” However, the type of distraction matters. Talking, which demands the most mental effort, proved most disruptive, while listening to music allowed greater spare capacity for ad processing. The takeaway: attentional load — not just sensory type — determines ad effectiveness.
As Dr. Goode notes, “It’s not about getting all of the attention — it’s about using the attention you’re getting.”
The human brain is wired to process sound faster and more fluently than visuals — research suggests 11–22% quicker. This speed gives audio an inherent edge in a world of rapid scrolling and skippable formats. Whether it’s a familiar jingle, a distinctive brand sting, or an emotive soundtrack, sound delivers immediate cues that can anchor memory, trigger recognition, and evoke emotion.
Sonic elements do more than supplement visuals — they can carry meaning independently, mediate visual attention, and fill informational gaps when eyes are elsewhere. As Goode observes, “We don’t look around for something to listen to — we listen out for things to look at.”
Examples abound. The tudum of Netflix primes anticipation. McDonald’s ba da ba ba ba sparks instant brand recognition. The “crack” of a Magnum bar brings sensory richness to screen. These are not mere embellishments — they are emotional shortcuts that work in milliseconds, embedding brands into culture and memory.
Music, too, plays a starring role. Think of John Lewis’s Christmas campaigns — soundtracks like Lily Allen’s Somewhere Only We Know or Ellie Goulding’s Your Song became cultural moments in their own right, carrying as much weight as the visuals. As the study reminds us, music isn’t background — it is the ad.
While audio proves resilient, the research also demonstrates the multiplier effect of multisensory advertising. When ads communicate meaning through both sight and sound, they perform significantly better on memory and recall.
In one experiment, when participants expressed low confidence in recognising an image, they often reported having “heard something that looked like it.” Conversely, uncertain auditory recall was supported by visual memory. This interplay confirms that our senses collaborate to process information — each compensating when the other is compromised.
Multisensory ads not only reinforce brand messages but also improve fluency, the ease with which we process information. According to cognitive science, fluently processed messages are liked more, believed more, and remembered more. Designing for fluency — simplicity, consistency, and alignment across sound and vision — helps brands make the most of the attention they receive.
To complement the lab experiments, Thinkbox conducted a VR pilot study, immersing participants in a simulated media environment filled with competing attention sources — messages, web pages, social feeds, and TV ads. Eye-tracking revealed that visual attention varied significantly, averaging around 15 seconds per ad, consistent with real-world measures from Lumen and TVision.
However, dwell time didn’t guarantee effectiveness. Brands like Nike and KitKat successfully converted attention into strong visual and auditory recall, while others failed to do so despite similar exposure. Meanwhile, digital brands like Amazon achieved strong brand attribution with relatively low visual attention, illustrating that quality of processing matters more than quantity of attention.
The conclusion: attention is complex, not binary. It’s not simply “paid” or “ignored” — it’s a spectrum. Success depends on how ads use whatever attention they get, not on assuming full focus.
For creative and media planners, the implications are clear:
Great audio creative doesn’t just survive repetition; it thrives with frequency, reinforcing messages without fatigue.
The Earning Attention study reframes how we think about engagement. In a world where attention is fragmented and fleeting, brands can no longer assume full focus — they must earn it. Sound offers the most reliable route to doing so, cutting through clutter and connecting emotionally even when screens are shared or minds are elsewhere.
In Goode’s words, “Making the most of the attention you’re getting is as important as getting it in the first place.”
