July 1, 2026 | MediaCat
Right now, shoppable ads are much more common on social media than in streaming. That means that they’re more unexpected in streaming—a novelty. People may pay more attention to these kinds of ads, but they also may be more wary.
Michelle Nelson
Professor and Head of the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising
A new study from College of Media faculty and students claims that consumers pay more attention to shoppable ads when streaming than when browsing social media—for better or for worse.
The research article, “Why Some Shoppable Ads Persuade: Expectancy Violations and Ad Value Across Streaming TV and Social Media,” was led by ICR doctoral student Alice Ji, with Michelle Nelson, professor and head of the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, and Ruiheng (Rachel) Sun (MS ’25, advertising).
Overall, the study found that consumers respond to shoppable ads “based on how they interpret that unexpectedness, whether the violation is appraised as useful, innovative, or irritating.”
In the UK trade publication MediaCat, Nelson said most ads are invasive unless they offer some value to the consumer.
“Maybe they offer a discount, or maybe they provide valuable information to us. Ads that interrupt our media experience tend to be regarded as most intrusive,” Nelson said.
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