I’m Not Sure What to Make of This Study About Radio Ads
This week’s Broadcast Dialogue email missive contained this tidbit:
A Duke University study has found that female listeners are interested in audio ads read by creaky-voiced men but not so much so in those same spots read by creaky-voiced women (5.04 versus 3.38 on a 0-to-6 scale).
Creaky came out ahead of breathy, nasal, tense, whispery, and harsh.
Researchers, by the way, define “creaky” as having frequent low-pitched vibrations, especially at the ends of words or phrases.
It’s unclear why the women responded well to male creakiness but their lack of interest on thedistaff voices may be because of cultural cues such as actresses’ use of creaky voices when playing non-serious roles, e.g. Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde.
Interesting, no?
