Big question: Do six-second ads work?

Quick answer: Depends on a few factors, including goal/objective and environment (skippable, etc.).

Unaided ad recall rate when 15s ad is skippable according to MAGNA:

1) 6s – ↑ 17%
2) 15s (skippable) -↑ 11%

Unaided ad recall rate when neither ad is skippable:

1) 6s – ↑ 16%
2) 15s –↑ 16%

Brand favorability when neither ad is skippable:

1) 15s – ↑ 5%
2) 6s – ↑ 1%

Purchase intent when neither ad is skippable:

1) 15s – ↑ 6%
2) 6s – ↑ 2%

The bull case for six-second ads: Social ad formats have low attention with an average view time of 1.7s. Developing short ads for this type of environment makes sense.

Quote from Oliver Yonchev – U.S. Managing Director @ Social Chain:
“I believe any advert that’s distributed through a social channel should go through the creative lens of a two-second filter”

Flashback: TVision Insights: 6 Second Ads: Who, How & When to Use

Attention index per second by age for 6s according to TVision:
1) 35-54 – 114
2) 55+ – 111
3) 18-34 – 99
4) <18 – 95

The bear case for six-second ads: Demand for 6s ads in non-social formats appears to have peaked in 2017-18.

Share of 6s ads on YouTube according to MediaRadar:
1) 2018 – 20%
2) 2019 – 17%

Video: Miller High Life: 1 Second Ad- Super Bowl Ad 2009

More: How Long Should Videos Be: The Ideal Social Video Length for Every Platform