Innerscope Research, Temple University’s Fox School of Business, Time Warner Medialab Release New Results that “Crack the Code” of Super Bowl Ad Engagement Using Latest Consumer Neuroscience Tools
NEW YORK, July 23, 2025 – The Time Warner Medialab, in conjunction with Innerscope Research and Temple University’s Center for Neural Decision Making (CNDM) at the Fox School of Business, have announced new results of an integrated consumer neuroscience study that begins to “crack the code” of advertising engagement with TV ads during the highest profile ad event of the year.
The findings, which build on previous results, are consistent with nearly 30 years of neuroimaging and reinforce the power and the value of integrated consumer neuroscience tools such as biometrics and fMRI in providing marketers with a clear understanding consumers’ nonconscious behaviors - including how and where their content delivers maximum engagement.
The results were presented at two conferences in June. The first was primarily an academic conference hosted by Stanford University in collaboration with Harvard Business School, University of Michigan and Temple’s Fox Business School called the 4th Annual Interdisciplinary Symposium on Decision Neuroscience. The second was primarily an industry conference hosted by the Advertising Research Foundation known as Audience Measurement 2014 in New York City.
In a comparison of “winning” and “losing” ads based on Innerscope’s validated biometric engagement metric from the 2014 Super Bowl, ads that performed well elicited increased brain activity in key areas that are of great interest to marketers, such as amygdala (emotional relevance), superior temporal gyrus (sensory integration), hippocampus (memory formation) and lateral prefrontal cortex (decision making).
The new results focused on Innerscope’s patented synchrony measure so that high levels of biometric synchrony lead to high levels of activation in the medial portion of the posterior parietal lobe known as the precuneus. The synchrony measure captures the extent to which an audience is experiencing a common journey as the ad creative is experienced. The precuneus is thought to be involved in a variety of high level integration tasks including first person perspective taking, the experience of agency, and personal relevance.
The study shows that marketers, by leveraging these consumer neuroscience tools, can deliver their brands to consumers in an authentic and personally relevant way that establishes an emotional connection – critical in an increasingly cluttered marketplace.
“The results of our new analyses demonstrate that, while we still may be at the beginning of using neuroscience to understand market communications, there is significant and meaningful progress,” said Dr. Carl Marci, Innerscope Research Co-Founder and Chief Scientist. “Ads that generate emotion are also showing activity in areas of the brain that are related to personal relevance and the experience of agency. This is key to establishing a connection that can influence future behaviors like purchase.”
The study began during the Super Bowl with Innerscope biometrically monitoring 80 participants live, using state-of-the-art technology to capture fluctuations in heart rate, skin conductance, and breathing patterns across two locations: the company’s Media Lab and facilities in Boston and the Time Warner Medialab in New York.
Innerscope shortlisted a set of ads for the fMRI study, conducted by CNDM, that included the top and bottom performing ads based on the biometric results from the Boston portion of the study. Researchers at CNDM were blind to the specific Innerscope findings. Within a span of four days, fMRI responses were collected from 26 new participants, as they watched 27 of the game’s ads.
About Time Warner
Time Warner Inc., a global leader in media and entertainment with businesses in television networks and film and TV entertainment, uses its industry-leading operating scale and brands to create, package and deliver high-quality content worldwide on a multi-platform basis.
About Innerscope
Founded in 2006, Innerscope Research, Inc. is the leading integrated consumer neuroscience company dedicated to improving the way marketers understand consumer decision making. By measuring emotional engagement, Innerscope helps Fortune 500 clients optimize their brands, products and communications for superior in-market performance. With its breakthrough and validated methodology, including the latest advances in biometrics, neurometrics, psychometrics and self-reporting, Innerscope measures and analyzes moment-by-moment non-conscious responses, the primary drivers of behavior and choice. Founded by Harvard and MIT scientists, Innerscope has been recognized with ARF Innovation and Rising Star Awards, ESOMAR Best Presentation Award, and as a 2013 EXPLOR award finalist at IIR’s TMRE. For more information, visit www.innerscope.com.
About Temple University Center for Neural Decision Making
The Center for Neural Decision Making (CNDM) at Temple University’s Fox School of Business is at the forefront of academic research in consumer neuroscience, employing a multi-methodological approach to understand the neurophysiological bases of consumer behavior and decision making. Working closely with practitioners, and experts in academia, the CNDM seeks to apply academic rigor to address practical research questions in the areas of advertising and marketing. For more information, visit www.fox.temple.edu/neural.
Media Contacts
Time Warner Inc.
Mallory Weinberg | Mallory.Weinberg@timewarner.com | 212.484.6511
Innerscope Research
Todd Graff | tgraff@ctpboston.com | 617.309.0401
Shelley Harrison | sharrison@ctpboston.com | 617.412.4000
Temple University
Brandon Lausch | blausch@temple.edu | 215.204.4115