A copywriter, a film archivist and a former ad executive with a yearning for life as a hermit, were blindfolded and clamped by headphones playing white noise.

The article also quotes an ad executive who states that close-ended story lines make it easier for new viewers to tune in and figure out what's going on.

Ad executives would readily admit that half of all advertising was wasted, in that it missed its target, but they were never able to tell which half.