Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews eISSN: 2395-6518, Vol 8, No 3, 2020, pp 190-199 https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2020.8320 190 |www.hssr.in © Abdallah Ali et al. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TELEVISION COMMERCIALS IN URBAN AREA IN EGYPT Mohamed M Ali Abdallah Ali 1 , Adnan Jawabri 2 , Amiruddin Ahamat 3* 1 Human Resource Department, MCM-MENA College of Management, Dubai, UAE; 2 Khawarizmi International College, Abu Dhabi, UAE; 3* Centre of Technopreneurship Development (C-TED) and Faculty of Technology Management and Technopreneurship, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Technology Campus, Ayer Keroh, Melaka, Malaysia. Email: 1 dr.mohamed30@gmail.com, 2 Adnan.Tahir@khawarizmi.com, 3* amiruddin@utem.edu.my Article History: Received on 13 th November 2019, Revised on 14 th April 2020, Published on 14 th May 2020 Abstract Purpose: This research examined the effects of television-advertising viewing on the perceived wealth in society and the materialistic value orientations among adolescents in urban Egypt. Methodology: A survey on two hundred (200) adolescents aged eleven (11) to seventeen (17) was conducted in 2013. The urban sub-sample consisted of one hundred (100) respondents studying in Grade 7 and Grade 8 from a secondary school in Cairo city. The rural sub-sample consisted of one hundred (100) respondents studying in Grade 7 and Grade 8 from two (2) rural secondary schools in Alexandria. Main Findings: In the survey among urban (Cairo) adolescent respondents, it was found that there were higher estimates among adolescents whose family-owned five (5) modern-day products namely desktop computers, cameras, air conditioners and motorcars. This finding is not surprising as urban dwellers have a higher income than rural folks which translated into the higher purchasing power of buying modern-day products. Urban adolescents’ families owned more than rural adolescents’ families in terms of modern-day products namely desktop computers, cameras, air-conditioners and motorcars except for handphones as there was almost no difference in terms of owning handphones for urban or rural adolescents’ families. Implications: In addition, marketers are advised to consider placing advertisements on national television in their quest to reach out and promote their products and services to adolescents living in urban areas, as frequent watching of advertisements on television by adolescents in urban areas has a positive correlation with greater materialistic value. Novelty: The importance of this study is that it has managed to present empirical evidence that television advertising has an influence on materialism and perceived level of wealth among adolescents in urban areas of Egypt. Keywords: Effectiveness, Television Commercials, Advertising, Adolescents, Urban Area, Egypt. INTRODUCTION Apart from having the influence to attract consumer’s attention in buying products or services, advertising is also known to have social consequences and has received negative reviews and comments ( Pollay & Gallagher, 1990 ). The socio- economic framework is interconnected whereby it is distinguishable yet indivisible ( Pillai & Ahamat, 2018 ). Television viewers are exposed to the life of rich and famous Hollywood artists and actors. These millionaire superstars have big followers. Every day, television audiences across the globe are treated with these unrealistic images such as fancy clothing, latest gadgets, and beautiful motorcars. Hence, examining the world and people in the same context as profits in monetary terms can be daunting ( Ahamat, 2017 ). Although the media compromises the immeasurable cost because it is not directly related to finance but involves so-called opportunity costs, however, it cannot be denied that it is significant to a certain extent. Examples of losses incurred including student and teacher dropouts, in addition to mounting social issue cases. There is an obvious difference in consumption patterns between urban and rural consumers. In rural areas, consumers are less exposed to the television or the internet, which air the products or services advertisements. Thus, consumers, especially adolescents or younger consumers who are the main subjects in this study, have less desire compared to the urban adolescent consumers as their purchasing power is solely due to the influence of advertisement. This research investigated whether advertising through the medium of television would have a significant effect on adolescents in both urban and rural areas in Egypt. LITERATURE REVIEW Television is known to control our "symbolic environment". McQuail and Windahl (1993) observed that television was viewed in the production paradigm not just as a window of the world, but perhaps a world in itself. Many teenagers who reach adulthood in isolated areas might never have been to a metropolis. Younger audiences might be more reliant on television for facts because of a lower level of experience than other matured viewers (Evra, 1990 ). As per Chan and Cai (2009) , audiences who viewed more daytime series continued to rank less in expectations of individualism and other people's trust.