Why do some advertisements get shared more than others? Quantifying facial expressions to gain new insights

Abstract

Why do some advertisements get shared more than others? Using scalable automated facial coding algorithms, the authors quantified the facial expressions of thousands of individuals in response to hundreds of video advertisements. Results suggest that not all emotions increase sharing and that the relationship between emotion and transmission is more complex than mere valence alone. Facial actions linked to positive emotions, (e.g., smiles) were associated with increased sharing. Although some actions associated with negative emotion (e.g., lip depressor associated with sadness) were linked to decreased sharing, others (e.g., nose wrinkles) associated with disgust were linked to increased sharing.