• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 7, 2009

Results of a new AdweekMedia/The Harris Poll find that 55% of Americans say current advertising is interesting while 41% say it is not interesting. However, only 8% say current ads are very interesting while 47% say they are somewhat interesting.

Younger adults and those with higher incomes are more likely to consider them interesting. 66% of adults aged 18-34, and 60% of adults aged 35-44, think the ads are interesting as do 62% of those Americans with a household income of $75,000 or more. Conversely, 52% of adults 55 and older say that current advertising is not interesting, as do 46% of those aged 45-54 and those who have a household income between $35,000 and $74,999.

Interest In Current AdvertisingConsidering All Types Of Advertising, (All U.S. Adults, % of Segment)
Response	Total		Age										Household income
			18-34		35-44		45-54		55+		Less than $35k		$35k - $49.9k	$50k- $74.9k	$75k or more
Interesting (Net)	55%		66		60		49		46		56		53	52	62
Very interesting	8		12		9		6		6		8		9	7	10
Somewhat interesting	47		54		51		43		40		48		44	45	52
Not Interesting (Net)	41		30		35		46		52		39		46	46	36
Not that interesting	28		21		25		29		37		24		29	34	27
Not at all interesting	13		9		11		17		14		14		17	12	9
Not at all sure		4		4		5		4		2		5	1	2	1
Source: Adweek Media/The Harris Poll, June 2009

Regardless of how interesting, 54% of Americans say advertisements they had seen or heard were not influential when then made their last large purchase, while 35% of Americans say the ads they saw or heard were influential.

Younger adults are more likely to say ads are influential when compared to the older adults. 60% of adults aged 45-54, and 62% of those 55 and older, say ads are not influential, with 31% of each age group saying they are not at all influential. But, 45% of adults aged 18-34 say the ads they may have seen or heard are influential in making their last large purchase.

Ad Influence When Making Last Large Purchase (All U.S. Adults, % Of Segment)
	Total	Age
		18-34	35-44	45-54	55+
Influential (Net)	35%	45	37	28	29
Very influential	6	8	10	4	3
Somewhat influential	29	37	28	24	26
Not Influential (Net)	54	44	52	60	62
Not that influential	29	27	31	30	30
Not at all influential	25	17	20	31	31
Not at all sure	5	5	4	7	3
Not applicable	6	7	7	5	5
Source: Adweek Media/The Harris Poll, June 2009

Most people are exposed to dozens of television ads, print ads, or even Internet pop-up ads in the course of a single day, says the report. Considering the amount of ad exposure daily, what types are considered most helpful in deciding what products or services to actually purchase and which ones are most likely to be ignored or disregarded?

37% of Americans say that television ads are most helpful in making their purchase decision while 17% say newspaper ads are most helpful and 14% say the same about Internet search engine ads. Radio ads and Internet banner ads are not considered helpful by many people. 28%), of Americans however, say that none of these types of advertisements are helpful to them in the purchase decision making process.

Most Helpful Ads In Deciding What Products Or Services To Purchase (All U.S. adults, % of Segment)
Ad Type	Total	Age					Region
		18-34	35-44	45-54	55+	East	Midwest	South	West
Television ads	37%	50	38	35	23	39	33	40	35
Newspaper ads	17	6	13	14	31	16	20	14	17
Internet search engine ads	14	10	15	16	16	14	13	14	15
Radio ads	3	3	4	3	2	3	2	3	3
Internet banner ads	1	4	1	1	*	2	2	1	1
None of these	28	27	29	31	27	25	29	29	29
Source: Adweek Media/The Harris Poll, June 2009

46% of Americans say they tend to ignore Internet banner ads. Much further down the list of ignored ads are Internet search engine ads, television ads, radio ads, and newspaper ads. 9% of Americans say they do not ignore any of these types of ads. There are age and regional differences as well.

Ads People Ignore Most (All U.S. adults, % of Segment)
Ad Type	Total	Age				Region
		18-34	35-44	45-54	55+	East	Midwest	South	West
Internet banner ads	46%	43	50	48	45	43	51	43	48
Internet search engine ads	17	20	14	17	15	16	17	18	15
Television ads	13	7	10	15	20	12	13	13	14
Radio ads	9	11	10	9	7	11	7	9	10
Newspaper ads	6	7	7	5	5	9	5	6	4
None of these	9	13	9	6	8	10	8	10	8
Source: Adweek Media/The Harris Poll, June 2009

The report concludes with these summary comments:

• Even if viewership may be down, and even with the increased use of digital video recorders so people can fast forward through commercials, television ads are the most helpful to consumers
• While an Internet strategy is essential for a comprehensive ad campaign, Internet banner ads are not considered helpful by few and are ignored the most
• People are more likely to ignore ads on their computers but are more likely to pay attention to those on their television

For more information, please visit HarrisInteractive here for the PDF (harris_poll_2009_07_01.pdf) file.