• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, August 11, 2016

As you have probably heard, over 50 percent of women working in advertising have experienced sexual harassment during their careers. That's pretty bad. What's not anywhere near as bad or related in any way, shape or form is the recent finding that Australian consumers are twice as likely to cry as the rest of the world when watching your ad.

That's right. That finding comes from a recent study conducted by video company Unruly. And while Australians would appear to be more emotional than most as indicated by this increased level of crying while watching your ads, they are actually less emotional than the rest of the world.

In fact, Australians are 33 percent less likely to feel intense emotions while watching a video ad, 28 percent less likely to feel inspired and 12 percent less likely to feel warmth. So what's with all the crying? Who knows. The study didn't elaborate but maybe it's because they've bottled up their emotions so much they simply have to let loose once in a while. And why not during an ad? That's way better than bursting into tears during a business meeting right? 

Anyway, understanding how Australians and the rest of the world emotionally react to advertising is key to developing a successful campaign according to Unruly Managing Director Lance Traore who said, “By being able to identify and quantify the key drivers of consumer engagement, marketers will have a better understanding of what works for their audience and why.”

Earth shattering, I know. Now let's see what we can do about something that really matters; sexual harassment in the workplace.