Effects of fine print font size on gaze-dwell time and memory in video ads

Traditional print advertisements, as well as television and video ads, consist of a headline, images, body text, and brand elements. Although the headline conveys the main message of the ad, it is occasionally accompanied by disclaimers such as "Applies to premium members only." Fine print that is unclear due to small font sizes constitutes an unfair representation and is potentially disadvantageous to consumers. We examined the effects of disclaimer font size on recall and recognition memory and on eye gaze in two video ads about formal suits and smartphone services. The dwell time on the fine print increased as font size was increased from 30 to 55 or 80 pt, but only for one type of ad. The improvements in memory performance were small or negligible and specific to one ad. Importantly, > 80% and 50% of the participants failed to recall and recognize the fine print, respectively. These results suggest that increasing font size has limited ability to improve memory for terms conveyed to customers in fine print.