NEW YORK—As more government regulators and digital platforms start to require disclosure of AI-generated content, a new study from MediaScience found that labeling a video ad as AI-generated does not hurt how it performs.

The results showed no decline in any performance measure and increase in AI creation awareness across all four labeling conditions tested. For well-made ads, disclosure is not the threat the industry assumed it was, the researchers reported.

The study comes at a time when the regulatory pressure around AI in video advertising is ramping up.

New York's AI Transparency in Advertising law takes effect June 2026. The EU AI Act introduces binding disclosure obligations in August 2026.

These developments raised important questions for advertisers, who have been wondering if compliance and labelling would impact ad performance.

To address those issues, the study tested four labeling approaches across 900 U.S. respondents, reflecting frameworks under active consideration by U.S. and EU legislators: a text label in the first three seconds of the ad, a delayed text label from seconds four through six, a full-duration text label and a full-duration icon. Each was tested against a control with no labeling.

The data shows no adverse change in ad performance across any of the labeling conditions. Brand choice, ad memory, brand recognition, brand attitude, ad liking, and perceived production quality all showed no significant difference from the no-label control, the MediaScience survey found.

"There has been a lot of anxiety in the industry about what happens when you tell people an ad was made with AI," said Dr. Duane Varan, CEO of MediaScience. "The data gives us a clear answer: if the creative is good, disclosure does not hurt it. Advertisers do not need to be afraid of the label."

Displaying a disclaimer during the first three seconds increased viewers' awareness that the content was AI-generated by 28%. Running the label continuously throughout the ad increased awareness by 36%.

While 42% of respondents preferred the visual icon, it was the least effective at increasing AI awareness. On ad memory, text labels outperformed the control score of 36 across all conditions: 46 for the 3-second label, 40 for the delayed label, and 49 for full-duration. The icon scored 38, near the control.

The study also found that audiences feel the strongest need for AI labeling when it generates humans (60%), followed by animals (46%), product placement (45%), and voices (45%).

The study was conducted by MediaScience in collaboration with the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute at Adelaide University, a marketing science academic center, and MediaPET.ai, an AI video content platform developed by MediaScience.

FreeWheel has announced that it is working with MediaScience on a new initiative, The Viewer Experience Lab, that will help media companies ensure a quality experience for viewers across the growing array of traditional and emerging advertising channels.

“Over the past few years, the ability for media companies to provide a uniform, quality experience across all of the diverse platforms into which they now serve advertising has grown exponentially harder,” said Mark McKee, general manager, FreeWheel. “Couple this with the reality that protecting their relationship with viewers has become paramount in an increasingly competitive ad marketplace, and you can see why we’re committed to helping our clients solve this complex challenge.”

In launching the Viewer Experience Lab, FreeWheel explained that dynamically serving advertising outside of the traditional linear ad environment, whether on AVOD, FAST or other streaming platforms, can result in such problems as latency, ad repetition and other unwanted consequences that hurt the viewing experience and reduce the effectiveness of ad campaigns. 

The new Viewer Experience Lab intends to address those issues in two ways: 

• Conduct quantifiable research to help advertising buyers and sellers understand the impact of different ad experiences on viewer experience and performance, including viewer response to new and evolving ad formats;
• Develop solutions and interoperable technologies fueled by these new insights that allow video content providers to implement best practices and provide seamless ad viewing experiences in a multi- platform, premium video ecosystem.

In launching the initiative, FreeWheel said that it has chosen MediaScience as an inaugural research partner to provide bespoke research for The Viewer Experience Lab. 

“We have completed extensive research into viewing experience, especially as it relates to the impact on advertising performance, but as the media world changes, our research needs to keep on evolving,” said Dr. Duane Varan, CEO, MediaScience. “We are thrilled that FreeWheel, with the support of its council of leading media companies, has chosen us to spearhead this important initiative.”

The Viewer Experience Lab has also released its first research, a new State of TV Advertising Viewer Experience Report, which is a comprehensive analysis of viewer experience today and an exploration of how our industry should define and approach this important subject.

As part of The Viewer Experience Lab, FreeWheel will use emerging insights and recommendations to enhance and build new products within its VX suite.

In addition, FreeWheel has lined up a number of companies to support the effort. Companies that have joined the FreeWheel Council for Video Excellence include A+E Networks, AMC, FOX, NBCUniversal, Warner Brothers Discovery and Paramount.

“Our viewer relationships are at the center of everything we do as a media company and the unique value we are able to deliver to our advertising clients. These relationships are rooted in a viewer-first strategy across a broad, ad-supported distribution ecosystem that spans linear networks, streaming services and emerging, connected TV/FAST platforms,” said Evan Adlman, executive vice president of commercial sales and revenue operations for AMC Networks. “We are focused on offering the best data targeting capabilities across all of our inventories, so having insights into the consumer experience that allow us to deliver the best products is invaluable in this dynamic and changing environment. We are thrilled to partner with FreeWheel in this new and novel effort.”

In addition to launching the State of TV Advertising Viewer Experience Report, FreeWheel and MediaScience have begun work on a custom analysis into viewing experience that will analyze consumers’ responses to viewer experience stimuli in a lab environment and provide best practices for the industry. Initial findings are expected to be released in January 2024.

For additional VX information and access to all VX research, visit freewheel.com/viewerexperiencelab.

NEW YORK—Advertising is stronger when TV and digital work together, according to a new study from Comcast Cable’s advertising sales division Effectv and MediaScience.

The “Digital Loves TV” study compared brand metrics and advertising perceptions for digital-only campaigns versus campaigns that included both digital and TV components. When TV and digital ads are coupled together they prove to be more effective.

Specifically, the study found that viewers spent three times more with ads on TV and digital compared to digital alone. Brand recall was also better, more than doubling when a digital ad for a brand also had a TV ad. In addition, customers were 15% more likely to purchase the product when ads aired on TV and digital compared to just digital.

There was also an impact on how TV can provide a better perception of a brand’s digital ads. In the study, when a digital ad was preceded by a TV ad, the researchers observed a 12% lift in brand attitude, as well as being perceived as “less intrusive” and “less annoying.” TV created what the report described as a halo effect.

TV helps consumers connect to all brands, but there is a greater lift in key metrics for unknown brands, the report finds. Participants stated that seeing a TV ad “legitimized” an unknown brand, where a lone digital ad could leave them skeptical.

Overall, the report found that 94% of viewers watched the TV ads compared to 78% in the digital environment.

“This study demonstrates TV advertising’s impact on consumer awareness and attitude toward both established and lesser-known brands,” said John Bauer, executive director of data, Insights and Innovation, at Effectv. “TV is a trusted source of information, and pairing TV with digital video more effectively builds brand strength than digital alone.”

The full “Digital Loves TV” report is available online. 

AUSTIN, Texas—The COVID-19 pandemic presents advertisers with a quandary: Does TV advertising in newscasts with coverage of the coronavirus put their brands in peril, or is there a way to protect brands while advertising in the same news environment?

Further, would advertisers do better to concentrate efforts on non-news primetime entertainment like sports and sitcoms given the current climate?

Research authority MediaScience conducted an experimental study in April using its StreamPulse OTT testing app to find out.

The study determined that context is important. Advertising in a news environment is often safer for COVID-focused brand messaging. The study also revealed that informational messaging generally doesn’t perform as well as brand’s traditional ads. When informational messaging is important, commercials work better in a news environment, the study found. 

Viewers were exposed to two content environments: primetime comedy and news programming. Ad pods included a mix of standard ads and COVID-19-relevant commercials. Brands were tested as COVID-19 ads and as standard ads.

Responses revealed that context and creative execution are critical. For example, for aided brand recall across all genres, Amazon’s COVID-19 ad got a 90% lift over its traditional ads. Domino’s COVID-19 ad received a 9% lift, according to the study.

The research revealed creative executions that were informational, such as “our drive-through service remains open,’” fared worse than those with an emotional appeal to their messaging. In some cases, ads with an appeal to emotion outperformed a brand’s standard ads.

“What COVID-19-themed ads prove, once again, is that the emotional dynamics of good advertising don’t go away just because what we have to say is important,” said Duane Varan, CEO of MediaScience. “We need to ‘show’ not just ‘tell’ them our message—and do so in the right environment.”

For example, in the comedy environment, Ford’s COVID-19 brand messaging had a negative impact on brand sentiment in ad-liking and purchase intent, revealing the risk such advertising poses to brand equity, the study showed.

News may provide a safer environment for brands needing to communicate key information because news viewers respond better to information-driven messaging, according to MediaScience.

An alternative for such brands could be on-screen graphics over traditional ads to convey critical messaging, the research organization added.

Separately, Phil Napoli, a public policy professor at Duke, speaking during a press briefing April 29, cautioned that advertisers are reluctant to place ads in COVID-19-related news environments.

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“We’re seeing advertisers blacklist, essentially, coronavirus news,” he said. “That means using key words to make sure their ads don’t appear along stories on coronavirus issues.”

“That creates an ironic situation where the news in highest demand is actually the type of news that is most economically vulnerable. That is the nature of what, I would argue, is a market failure,” said Napoli.

More information is available on the MediaScience website.

RESTON, Va.—Advertising in a digital era will go under the microscope as Comscore and lab-based research organization MediaScience team up to study how and why cross-platform advertising works and examine audience measurement benchmarks, the companies announced this week.

“Comscore is extremely excited to be working closely with MediaScience on these innovative studies to establish critical benchmarks of cross-platform success,” said Jeff Boehme, senior vice president of TV and cross-platform research at Comscore.

The companies will conduct a series of industry thought leadership studies in their quest for answers. Comscore and MediaScience have identified three areas in which they will focus efforts.

Those include developing thought leadership regarding how ads work across platforms; creating client-specific solutions, such as cross-platform and brand integration research; and advancing measurement of in-room attention and engagement for OTT advertising.

By collaborating, the companies have the chance to “see exciting breakthroughs in better understanding the cross-platform landscape,” said Duane Varan, CEO of MediaScience.

More information is available on the Comscore website.