Avoiding Television Advertising: Some Explanations from Time Allocation Theory

Time allocation theory holds that individuals allocate their discretionary time purposively, depending upon their time orientation: to the past, present, or future. We use this perspective to understand more about why individuals avoid watching TV advertisements. We test a model of avoidance where time orientation influences attitude to advertising and avoidance with survey data from two different societies. Past-oriented people see advertising as important but promoting consumption. They tend to avoid advertising more than present-oriented people who see advertising as complimenting their concern to “live for today.” Future-oriented people see advertising as important in planning purchases and are less likely to avoid it.The authors wish to acknowledge Experian plc that allowed the use of MOSAIC for this research. We would also like to thank Dr. David Bennison, reader in the Locational Planning and Marketing Group, Department of Retailing and Marketing, The Manchester Metropolitan University, and John Byrom, research assistant in the same group, for their assistance with the MOSAIC software.