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.
advertisement advertisement 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.